Unknown Realms
by Hottichan
Summary: What happens when the Z gang meets up with a girl who has the power to slip her spirit into other realms and dimensions unintentionally? What do her fellow royal guardian friends have to say about her recklessness? R/R pllleeeasse!!!
1. Default Chapter

Chapter 1-A Whole New World  
The sun shone through the trees, creating a pattern on the ground below. A slight breeze blew by and the girl inhaled the nature's aroma. The other girl reached her hands to the sky, stretching and then rested her arms behind her head. The tow girls walked through the woods until they came to a crossing. There were two ways to get across the creek, a bridge, or stepping-stones. They looked at each other before taking off in a mad rush. The girl that had short brown hair with a white streak in the front took the stepping stone path while the other girl with shoulder blade long, black hair ran across the bridge. The brunette jumped from stone to stone, landing gracefully on each one. The other ran across the arched stone bridge with great speed. They reached the other side at the exact same time. They looked at each other and burst into fits of laughter. They continued to walk through the woods enjoying the scenery.  
  
"I'm glad you could come today, Ronnie." said the brunette.  
  
"I finally convinced my mom to let me come, since I had a violin recital this weekend too." Veronica stated, "..Besides, you always plan the best outings, Trin."  
  
"This is supposed to help us relax remember? After those SAT's I'm slammed." Trinity sighed. She notices Veronica was looking at something in the sky. Trinity looked up to see a sparkle in the sky. I got bigger and appeared to be a white light. They were surprised that they were able to see it in broad daylight, making them wonder how bright it really was.  
  
"Whoa, what's that?" Trinity asked, hoping her friend knew the answer.  
  
"I have no clue...it's pretty though."  
  
"Yeah, it is." She agreed with Veronica. Suddenly the light beamed down on them. They screamed as it lifted them off the ground and into the air.  
  
"Trin!"  
  
"Ronnie!" They outreached their hands trying to get a hold of the other. They stretched out their arms and clamped onto each other's forearm. They went into a mid-air spin and all their surroundings disappeared in a blinding light.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
The air was filled with peace as the animals went about their daily routines. Suddenly a clap of thunder was heard, even though there wasn't a cloud in the sky, followed by a yell. The squirrel below looked up to see two girls fall out of what looked like a marble blue hole in the sky. It scampered away as the girls landed on the ground; hard. Trinity lifted herself up on her forearm and rubbed her head. Veronica propped herself up on her elbows, wincing at her pounding headache. They got up and took in the sight of their surroundings. They were in a place that didn't look like the woods they were just in. Suddenly the ground started to shake violently, causing them to fall back to the ground.  
  
"What's that? An earthquake?" Veronica asked. They looked far ahead and saw some trees being knocked down. Suddenly a dinosaur, a T-rex to be exact, burst through the trees in front of them and roared.  
  
"RUN!!" They screamed as they ran for their short, teenage lives. Somehow they outran it and hid behind a large rock.   
  
"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."  
  
"This is no time to be joking around!!" Veronica yelled out of breath.  
  
"Hey, look over there!" Trinity pointed behind Veronica, changing the subject. She didn't want to face her best friend's wrath. Veronica looked in the direction she had pointed and saw a city.  
  
"Come on!" Trinity pulled her friend towards it.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
They had been walking around for hours. And there were a lot of scary people there. The guys were staring at them and smiling in creepy ways. They quickly ran out of that area and kept looking for some kind of information place. So far they had been running from creepy guys, walking around a strange town, and avoiding being run over by speeding cars. Veronica stopped walking and dropped to her knees in exhaustion.  
  
"Come on, we can't stop now. We have to find some sort of information booth, or something." Trinity pulled her friend to her feet and they continued to walk.  
  
They entered a store to buy some new clothes. Once they had picked out an outfit or two, they walked up to the cashier.   
  
"That'll be 30.75, please." The cashier had rung up the price. Trinity pulled out her money and handed in to the cashier. The salesperson looked at the money strangely.   
  
"What is this?" He asked.  
  
"Dude, It'd the money you asked for." Trinity explained.  
  
"This isn't money. What do you take me for? A fool?" The man said in a French accent.  
  
"Dude, its money? What planet are you from?" Veronica lifted an eyebrow at him.   
  
"No, no, no. This is not money. What do you think this is?" he asked again.  
  
"Yo, it's cash, mula, dollars." Trinity tried once again. This time the cashier just laughed.  
  
"Young lady, we don't take this fake money. Now get out of this store." He pushed them out and they turned around and looked at the door that had just closed behind him.  
  
"What's his deal?" Veronica asked. Trinity simply shrugged and they continued to walk the city streets.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Marron had just finished her shopping spree and was on her way home when she spotted two girls she immediately found something wrong with them. She started to panic but decided to follow them instead. Once she heard their conversations and saw the looks on their faces she knew they weren't an enemy.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
They found an info corner and walked up to it.  
  
"Excuse me, miss. We seem to be lost, could you tell us where we are?" Trinity asked politely.  
  
"Why, you're in Satan City, of course." She said cheerily. The girls paled, recognizing the name.  
  
"Is something wrong?" The woman asked.  
  
"No, thank you." Veronica replied. They walked a few feet away and started to whisper.  
  
"Did I hear right?" Trinity asked, more to herself that Veronica.  
  
"Satan City? It's not possible. What are we going to do? We don't have a place to stay and they won't accept our money!! We won't have any food!! We're gonna die." Veronica started to panic. Suddenly someone tapped their shoulders, making them jump. They turned around and sunk into fighting stances. When they saw who it was they quickly composed themselves.  
  
"Gomen, but did you say you have no place to stay?" She asked.  
  
"Yeah." They said in unison.  
  
"Why don't you come live with me? I have room in my house." She offered.  
  
"Really?" Trinity perked up.  
  
"Yeah, come on." She led them to her house.  
  
"By the way, my name's..."  
  
"Marron." They finished for her.  
  
"How'd you know?"   
  
"Uh...lucky guess. You just look like a Marron." Veronica started to laugh nervously.  
  
"My name's Ver..." Veronica started but was interrupted by Trinity.  
  
"Miyako. She's Miyako. And I'm Hotiku. Friends call me Hotti-chan. I call her Mi-chan." Veronica looked at her as if she was crazy.  
  
"Those are nice names. Well, here we are." They walked into the large Victorian.  
  
"Tousan! I'm home; I've got some friends with me who'll be staying with us. Is that okay?"   
  
"Sure, we'll be right out." Her father's voice sounded familiar to them. Krillin stiffened immediately when he walked in.  
  
"Hello. Nice to meet you." Hotiku bowed, as did Miyako. Krillin was surprised at their manners.  
  
"Marron why don't you show them to your room."  
  
"Ok Tousan. Come on." They all walked up to her room and walked in.  
  
"Dinner'll be in a while so why don't I get you guys some new clothes. Miyako you are about my size. I don't think I have any clothes that'd fit you Hotiku. But do you mind wearing a fighter's clothing?" Marron asked.  
  
"Knowing Hotti-chan. She'll probably wear that clothes to bed. For some strange reason I can't figure out, she loves to fight." Miyako teased. It was true, Hotiku always got into trouble for fighting, and most of the guys in her school were afraid of her.  
  
"Well, there's a shower over there. And I'll go get your clothes." Marron walked out leaving them behind. After they had showered and gotten dressed. Marron went downstairs to help with dinner.  
  
"So now that we're alone. Mind if I ask you some questions?" Miyako asked.  
  
"Shoot." Hotiku said calmly.  
  
"Ok, first. Why did you lie to her and say that our names are Miyako and Hotiku?" She asked.  
  
"You don't want them to know who we really are, do you? Besides, how are we going to explain how we got here? And don't they sound familiar to you anyway? They like just popped into my head." Hotiku explained. Miyako sighed and went on with her questions.  
  
"Ok, second. Who's got the shower first?" Miyako and Hotiku looked at each other before racing towards the bathroom door. They were both struggling to get through the door. Suddenly they both fell in and crashed to the floor. Hotiku rubbed her head again and Miyako cursed for getting another headache. They both stood up and sighed.   
  
"You go first. I can wait." Hotiku offered.  
  
"Are you sure?" Miyako asked.  
  
"Yeah, besides I don't want to get hit in the head a third time." Hotiku walked out rubbing her head while Miyako started to laugh but quickly stopped as her headache became worse. Hotiku was searching through her bag to see if anything was missing. When she decided that everything was fine, she flipped the tip over the bag and closing it. Marron walked in the door with two sets of clothes in her hand.   
  
"Here, this one's for you and this one's for Mi-chan." Marron showed her the outfits. Miyako's was a pink tank top, blue jeans and a sweater. Hotiku's outfit was Juuhachigou's old fighting clothes, with a patch that read 'R&R' on the back.   
  
"If you want you can put a patch over the symbol on the back. Mom doesn't support that army any more." Marron explained.  
  
"I know." Hotiku said absentmindedly Marron gave her a weird look and she just smiled innocently.   
  
"I mean, I know I can, thanks." She covered up. Marron believed her and walked out of the room. Just then Miyako walked out in a towel and Hotiku threw the clothes at her, just to have some fun. Miyako caught them in a bundle, nearly dropping them while she was trying to keep her towel up. Hotiku laughed and ran into the shower. About twenty minutes went by and Hotiku walked out of the shower. She changed into her clothes and walked out. She found Miyako at the mirror curling her eyelashes. She rolled her eyes and walked next to her and was about to blow dry her hair when she noticed something out of the ordinary.   
  
"Since when do we have golden highlights?" Hotiku asked.  
  
"What are you...Oh my gawd! What happened?" She stared at her reflection.   
  
"Hey, I like my hair. This isn't so bad. I always wanted straight hair and these highlights are cool." Hotiku said.  
  
"But I don't want people to get us confused. We look exactly alike." Miyako whined.  
  
"Don't worry, we'll fix that. Marron!!" Hotiku called through the door. Marron came bounding down the hallway and walked into the room.  
  
"What is it?" Marron asked. Hotiku whispered something into her ear. Marron nodded and walked into the bathroom. Hotiku dragged Miyako into the bathroom and sat her in a chair in front of the sink. Marron pulled out a box from the cabinet and handed it to Hotiku. Hotiku tilted Miyako's head back into the running water.   
  
"What are you doing?!?" Miyako yelled.  
  
"You always did want brown highlights in your black hair, didn't you?" She smiled that smile of hers and opened the box. After a few minutes Hotiku lifted her friend's head and applied the dye.   
  
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Miyako asked.  
  
"Trust me, I'm good with this kind of stuff." She finished highlighting her hair and pulled out a blow dryer after the dye had set.   
  
"I never see you wearing any make-up." Miyako muttered.  
  
"That's cuz I hate that stuff. But that doesn't mean I don't know the tricks." Hotiku blow dried her hair and pushed her in front of a mirror. Miyako looked at her reflection, before yelling.  
  
"Sugoi!! I look so kawaii!!" She exclaimed. Miyako looked so much older and mature. That is she would have if she hadn't been grinning from ear to ear, as did Hotiku.  
  
"Come on, dinner's ready." Marron led the way downstairs to the dining room. They sat and ate dinner. But before they did, Hotiku and Miyako closed their eyes for about a minute. When they opened them, they were all staring at them. Hotiku and Miyako sweat dropped.   
  
"Sorry, an old custom." Hotiku said.   
  
"We pray before each meal." Miyako explained. They nodded and continued to eat. After dinner, the girls went up to their room and got ready for bed. Krillin and Juuhachi waited until they were upstairs to start talking.  
  
"They seem nice enough. Usually enemies just start their killing spree." Krillin said.  
  
"And Marron wouldn't have brought them home, if she didn't think they were okay." Juuhachi added. They agreed to let them stay and went for bed.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Hey you guys, tomorrow I want you guys to meet some of my friends. We're going to meet them at a club." Marron said.   
  
"Sure." Said Hotiku.  
  
"Okay." Said Miyako. They started getting ready for bed and changed into some nightclothes. Marron was wearing a light green nightgown and the same color on her pigtails, making them into buns, with dark green ribbons holding the cloth in place. Miyako was wearing a baby blue nightgown and pulled her hair up into a ponytail. Hotiku was wearing silk red pajama pants and a turquoise tank top that was decorated with a water lily pattern. They each went to sleep in their own beds and went to sleep. Hotiku, however, couldn't get to sleep. She had tried at least fifteen different positions, but couldn't fall asleep. She let her thoughts wander about the day's events and finally got to sleep.   



	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
Miyako's alarm went off, and loud. All three girls jumped out of their sleep in surprise. Hotiku fell on the floor and hit her head against the night table.   
  
"Damnit!" She yelled as she rubbed her head, yet again.  
  
"Kami, what time is it?" Marron asked. Miyako looked at the clock and turned back to Marron.  
  
"5:30, why?" She replyed as if it was normal for her.  
  
"5:30?!?! That's way too early! I'm going back to sleep!" Marron crawled into her bed, but Hotiku and Miyako were making so much noise getting ready that she couldn't sleep.  
  
"Fine! I'll wake up!!" She nearly screamed and got out of bed. After they had gotten dressed they made their way to the kitchen for breakfast. Juuhachi and Krillin came down to the kitchen ready for a fight, thinking someone was trying to robb their house. They jumped from behind a corner and were about to attack.  
  
"Ahh!!" All the girls screamed in fright. The couple screamed at their reaction, making everything even worse.  
  
"What are you three doing up so early?!" Juuhachi questioned.  
  
"Early? What are you talking about?!" Hotiku asked.  
  
"We always get up at this time." Miyako informed them. Juuhachi, Krillin and Marron all facefaulted.  
  
"Ahem...." Marron cleared her throat. "You're not going to get up that early _every_ day, are you?" She asked.  
  
"Why not? What time do you all usually wake up?" Miyako asked.  
  
"Around 8:00 or so."said Krillin.  
  
"8:00?! How do you all get ready in time for school and work?" Hotiku asked.  
  
"School doesn't start until 9:00."said Marron.  
  
"What?!?" Hotiku nearly screamed.   
  
"We don't, er... didn't have school at 9:00, we had it at 7:00"said Miyako.  
  
"7:00?! How can you all wake up that early?!" Krillin asked.  
  
"Stop yelling times of the day!!!" Juuhachi screamed fed up with it all.   
  
"Gomen." Marron and Krillin apologized. Hotiku and Miyako looked at each other and basically read each others minds.  
  
"Gomen." They said at the same time.   
  
'Great now we have to talk in Japanese!' Hotiku thought.  
  
"Hai, that's better." Juuhachi said and turned around to go make breakfast. After they all ate, they went their seperate ways. Marron, Miyako and Hotiku went to the town to kill time until it was time to go to the club. Time seemed to fly as they ran from store to store, Marron buying what she could with the money she had left.   
  
"Ooooo! I want this!! It's so kawaii!!" Miyako cheered. Marron looked into her purse to see how much money she had left.   
  
"How much is it?" Marron asked her.   
  
"Ummm, seventy." Miyako flashed her an innocent smile to convince it. Marron sighed and saw that she had just enough for it, then she would have some money left over for food. They ran up to the cash register to find the french cashier there again.  
  
"You?! What are you going to do this time? Pay with walnuts?" He said.  
  
"Listen, Pepe Le Pew," Hotiku remarked, causing Marron and Miyako to giggle, " in case you hadn't noticed, that was American money! I would think _you_ would know that since your country 'ad an alliance with America!" She said the last part with a french accent. The cashier made a funny 'humph' sound, and took the money from Marron's hand and rung up the dress. The girls had to stifle their laughs until the got out.  
  
"Au revoir, Frenchie!" Hotiku said. They couldn't take it anymore and burst out laughing. They ran down the street with all their bags. Finally their laughs died down to giggles. They found a snack stand and bought a bit of food for them to eat on the way home. Once they arrived, the girls ran to the room and dumped all their bags on the floor.   
  
"So what time are we going to this club?" Hotiku asked jumping back on the bed and resting her arms behind her head. She turned to look at Marron for an answer. She looked at her watch and nearly fell over.  
  
"Nani?! We have to leave in an hour!" Marron said.  
  
"No problem. We get dressed, fix our hair and leave. Bada bing, bada boom." Hotiku said.  
  
"Yeah right! You know how long it takes me to get ready!" Miyako yelled.   
  
"Hey, you don't have to do a lot! You already got mostly ready before we left!" Hotiku said.  
  
"Yeah, but all that running around got me all sticky and sweaty! I have to take a shower!" Miyako walked towards the bathroom. As soon as she closed the door behind her, Marron turned to face Hotiku.  
  
"All sticky and sweaty?" She asked.  
  
"Extreme femme." She replied simply and got up to get ready.   
  
"Hey, toss me that bag." Hotiku pointed to a shopping bag on the floor. Marron picked it up and threw it at her without thinking. She accidently threw it too hard, due to her superior strength, and she didn't aim either. It went way out to the side, without even thinking, Hotiku stepped over and grabbed the handles of the bag with one hand. Marron turned around and stared at her with awe. Hotiku pulled out the outfit she had bought and held it up.  
  
"What's wrong?" Hotiku noticed Marron was looking at her.  
  
"How did you do that?" She asked.  
  
"Nani? Do what?" Hotiku asked her.  
  
"Uh, never mind." She said and reached for another bag. Hotiku looked at her as if she was crazy before turning back to the outfit that she held in her hand. It was a red t-shirt that had yellow hemming, and read 'Fight' on the front. It also had a pair of black leather pants that had flame decor at the bottom of the pants. After she changed, she put her hat on backwards again. When Hotiku had turned around, Marron read what the hat had on the front.   
  
"It's an attitude thing?" Marron read outloud. Hotiku turned around and looked at her, before smiling.  
  
"Yup, and she's got plenty of it!" They turned to see Miyako leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom door. She had finally gotten out of the shower, and was wearing flared blued jeans and a lavender shirt that read her name on it. Hotiku laughed a bit, and went to the mirror to see if her hair was okay. After she moved bits and pieces of her curls around, she walked back to them. Marron was wearing white leather pants and black tanktop with white hemming that read the word 'Sweet' on it. She looked at her watch and nearly fell, again.   
  
"We have five minutes to get to the club!!" She said before grabbing their hands and running out the door, muttering a goodbye to her parents.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Three girls walked into the club, capturing the attention of everyone. They walked to the bar and sat on the stools.   
  
"So, Marron. When's this friend of yours going to show up?" Hotiku asked.  
  
"He should be here any minute." She replied.  
  
"Well, tell us when he gets here, we'll be on the dance floor." Miyako pulled Hotiku out without an answer. Hotiku waved before disappearing in the crowd of people. Marron sat at the bar, keeping an eye out, just in case she hadn't spotted him yet. After a few minutes, her friend hadn't shown up yet, and she noticed that a large crowd had crowded around in a circle. She peeked her head over the crowd to see that Miyako and Hotiku were the people in the middle of the circle dancing. She smiled and went back to waiting.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The girls hadn't noticed that practically everyone had circled them and been cheering for them. A fast, up-beat had been playing when a part played that felt like something was coming. Hotiku turned around, gave Miyako one look and she nodded. Hotiku ran to a wall, kicked up and flipped backwards onto Miyako's back, linking her elbows with her. Hotiku rolled back and flipped Miyako over her, then Miyako did the same. When they were face to face, Miyako turned under Hotiku's arm and they switched places. Suddenly the music changed to a salsa song. Hotiku and Miyako looked at each other excitedly.  
  
"No way!" They said at the same time and started dancing together. It looked as if they had made a routine for this song a while ago and had remembered it. Just as it was about half way, they stopped dancing with each other and danced by themselves. Hotiku decided to take it a step up and pulled a cute guy from the crowd and started dancing with him. Miyako saw her out of the corner of her eye and did the same. Just before the song ended, they pushed the boys back into the crowd and danced by themselves again. Suddenly, Miyako stopped and looked as if she had just seen a ghost. She inhaled sharply and moved her hand to her stomach, like something had moved through her. Hotiku noticed and stopped dancing.   
  
"What's wrong?" she asked.  
  
"I don't know, I just had this really, bad feeling something terrible was going to happen." Miyako replied, recovering.  
  
"Nani? What are you ta-" Hotiku couldn't finish as the same wave of anguish swept over her. She pulled in a deep breathe slowly and held her hand on her forehead.   
  
"Nani? Did you feel it?" Miyako asked.  
  
"Hai, come on. We'd better go tell Marron." They ran back to the bar to find Marron still sitting there waiting.   
  
"Marron, did your friend show up?" Miyako asked. Hotiku hit elbowed her softly.   
  
"Priorities girl!" She said in her defense.   
  
"No, he didn't come. He probably got held up. Why?" Marron asked.  
  
"Well, we got this really bad feeling something was going to happen." Miyako said.   
  
"Nani? Let me see." Marron narrowed her eyes as if she was searching for something. The girls had puzzled looks on their faces. Just then Marron sensed a powerful ki signature that was unfamiliar. She got up and had a worried look on her face.   
  
"Let's go." She said, and was followed out of the club by the two girls.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
They ran into the woods following the source of power they had detected. They stopped at a fork in the road.  
  
"Which way?" Miyako asked. Marron turned her head in both directions of the roads. She snapped her head to the left.  
  
"That way." She said and ran into the left pathway. They were a few feet into the path when Marron stopped abruptly, causing Miyako and Hotiku to crash into each other. They all fell onto the floor. Miyako getting yet another headache, and Hotiku hitting her head on the ground hard.   
  
"Why'd you do that for?" Hotiku asked, rubbing her head.  
  
"It switched to the other side of the fork. We have to go back and take the other road." Marron said and stood up.  
  
"NANI?!" They both yelled. They groaned as they got back up and followed her. When they got back to the fork in the road, they found that there was a blockade at the entrance of it. There were thorn bushes everywhere.  
  
"Nani? This wasn't here before." Hotiku said and tried to get over the thorns only to cut her leg.   
  
"Kuso! Ow, that hurt!" She dropped down to the floor and applied pressure to keep it from bleeding.   
  
"That was smart." Miyako said.  
  
"Quiet you." She said.   
  
"It's no use anymore. The power level has disappeared. Come on let's go home." Marron turned around to walk away, followed by Miyako. Then they heard someone clear their throat behind them. They turned around and saw Hotiku still on the ground.   
  
"In case you _already_ forgot.... I cut my leg and can't walk!!!!!" She yelled. They sweatdropped and walked over and helped her up. They supported her as she hopped on one foot, all the way home. When they finally got there, they nearly collapsed in the foyer.  
  
"Kaasan! Help!!" Marron yelled and Juuhachi came running from upstairs.   
  
"Kami, what did you all do this time?" She asked as she inspected Hotiku's leg.  
  
"I tried to climb over a thorn bush." Hotiku said. Juuhachi sighed and helped her er... hop to the kitchen. Juuhachi treated her wound and dressed it.   
  
"There, it should be fine in a few days." Juuhachi said.  
  
"I know." Hotiku hopped off the counter.  
  
"Nani? How?" Juuhachi questioned. Just then Miyako and Marron walked in.  
  
"Because she's always getting hurt and cut and stuff. Usually I'm the one who has to treat her wounds and junk." Miyako said.   
  
"Oh." was all that Juuhachi could say before walking out of the room.   
  
"Come on let's go sleep. We'll try to find that power tomorrow." Marron yawned and walked upstairs. Miyako was about to leave when she heard someone clear their throat behind her again.   
  
"Sure, leave the cripple alone." Hotiku threw her hands up. Miyako sighed and helped her up the stairs. They all got ready to go to bed, as soon as their heads hit the pillow they fell fast asleep.  
  
  



	3. Chapter3

Chapter 3  
  
"Ok, so here's the plan." Marron started to repeat the complex strategy for the twentieth time. Hotiku and Miyako were just about to fall asleep.   
  
"So then, we divide up and meet at point A. Then return to quadrant 7482, and then--"   
  
"Marron!!" Miyako yelled, cutting her off.   
  
"Nani?!" Marron turned around from her graphs and maps posted on the wall.   
  
"This is way too complicated!" She cried.   
  
"Ok, we go to this guy's house, get him and his dad, meet up with you and go back to the spot we felt the ki." Hotiku said.   
  
"Sounds like a plan to me!" Miyako cheered and got up to start. Marron sighed and put away her metal pointer.   
  
"Why do I even bother?" She asked herself and followed them outside to "commence" the operation.   
  
"Um, Marron?" Hotiku turned to her.   
  
"Hun." She perked up.  
  
"How do we get to this dude's house?"   
  
"*sigh* Go down six blocks, take a left and down three more blocks. It's the big yellow dome house. You can't miss it, it's the biggest house around." Marron pointed ahead of her to indicate the six blocks.   
  
"Ok, we'll meet in an hour." Miyako said, taking Hotiku's hat and putting it on her head before taking off. Hotiku turned around and followed her.   
  
"Well, they seem to not be taking this seriously. I hope they aren't like the people who think Mr. Satan is the world's savior." Marron sighed and went back inside to prepare.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Just as the girls made their way to the house, they saw someone knock on the door, but he was quickly thrown out by security. The girls sweatdropped before proceeding. Miyako walked up to the door and was about to knock when Hotiku pulled her back.   
  
"Nani?!" Miyako spun around to face her.  
  
"Didn't you see what just happened to that guy? Come on, let's go around the back." Hotiku walked around back and hugged the wall so she wouldn't be seen. When they made it around, Miyako poked her head around to see, and Hotiku did the same below her. They spotted something in the distance and looked at each other before nodding and running towards it. Hotiku saw a panel with a keypad below it. She turned around and looked at her friend puzzled.  
  
"What the heck is this thing?" She pointed behind her.  
  
"I don't know," Miyako caught a glimpse of the keypad and got a glint in her eye.  
  
"Move aside, I'm doin' ma stuff!" She wiggled her fingers and placed them on the keys. Her fingers danced around and finally, a beeping was heard as the door slid open. They walked inside, observing their surroundings. The room was filled with a red light instead of white, and there was a panel that read "400 g." They looked at each other as if to say, "what is that?" Suddenly they heard the door behind them open again.  
  
"Who the hell are you?!?!" They heard a booming voice behind them. They turned around and saw a short guy with black hair that swept up like fire. They panicked at his reaction and ran past him into the house. Hotiku looked back and saw that he was following them.  
  
"Eep! He's coming.... I've seen him before, but... where?" She asked herself as Miyako pulled her into the hallway. Suddenly they were sent crashing to the ground by a moving object. When they looked up, they saw someone with purple hair standing there, confused. The girls stretched out a scream and got up, quickly running from him.   
  
"Hey, wait! Get back here!!" He yelled. Suddenly the other man came up behind him running.  
  
"Don't just stand there, brat. After them!" He said and ran ahead of him. The boy ran behind the other man and followed the direction of the girls. The two girls had made their way to an abandoned hall way and stopped for a few short seconds to catch their breathe.   
  
"Ok, they can't get us as easily if we split up so you go--" Hotiku started, but couldn't finish as the two guys turned the corner and ran towards them. Instinctively, the girls split up and headed in different directions, through opposite corridors. The boy with purple hair chased after Miyako and the other guy ran after Hotiku.   
  
"Have to get away, keep running, keep running." Miyako told herself as the boy was catching up to her. Just then she got a sudden burst of energy and was able to outrun him to the next hallway. She turned the corner and saw a banister.... then stairs, and the door below. She felt relief and started to run faster. Suddenly Hotiku's hat fell off her head, and she lifted her hand and tried to catch it, but it was too late.   
  
"No, her hat!" She screeched to a halt and quickly turned around to pick it up. Just as she reached it, the boy had stopped in front of her. She lifted her head slowly and looked at him. No one moved for a few seconds. Suddenly, Miyako tried to get up and run, but he picked her up and hauled her away.   
  
"Let me go!!" She kicked and tried to get free, but he was too strong for her. He took her into a room that was completely white and dropped her onto the floor. He took the hat before walking out.   
  
"Hey, give that back!! Let me out of here!!" She pounded on the spot on the wall that he left. Other than the mirror on the far wall, which she immediately knew was a double mirror; the entire room was just white panels, including the floor and ceiling. She sighed and looked through the mirror.   
  
"You may have caught me, but she won't be as easy!" Miyako said out loud, hoping that he had heard her, which he did.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The guy was walking slowly, after losing the girl when she turned the corner, and for some strange reason, he couldn't sense her ki. Hotiku was supporting herself above the doorway, being as silent and motionless as possible. It had obviously been working since he hadn't found her yet. Just as she thought he was gone, he walked through the doorway scaring her. She nearly screamed in shock, but managed not to. Once he was a few feet ahead of her, she jumped off the top of the doorframe and grabbed the horizontal pole that was in front of her. She swung down, just as he turned around, and planted both feet on his chest, sending him ten feet back. He landed on his back, but quickly rose as she landed on her feet. She decided to cheat fate and ran past him down the corridor and past another corner. She found an unlocked door and ran inside. She shut the door loudly, and then panicked as she realized he could've heard it. She looked around the room frantically and found a large wooden crate. She broke of a piece of it and held the board in both hands, and then hid behind the door. A few seconds went by and she swallowed hard as she heard footsteps approaching. She looked down at the doorknob as it slowly turned and the door opened. As soon as she saw him, she swung the board around and hit him in his back sending to the floor, again, only this time flat on his face. She ran out the door and saw the other boy walk out of a room. She quickly hid against the wall in the shadows and waited for him to leave, except he started walking towards her. Then she heard a commotion coming from the room she just left. The other guy walked out and started walking in her direction too. Beads of sweat appeared on her fore head and she cursed herself for getting in this position. Without thinking, she ran out of the shadows and in the middle of the hallway where they could see her. They both ran towards her, but just as they reached her, she jumped up and held herself up by pushing her hands against the wall and her feet against the opposite wall. The two guys crashed into each other and fell to the floor. Before they could get up, she jumped down and into the room the boy with purple hair came out of. She found Miyako and ran towards her.   
  
"Come on, hurry before they get back!" Hotiku helped her up and they ran out the door. Just as they did, the two guys got up and ran after them. The girls split up again, and the guys chased them, each going after the one they did. The guy with black hair decided to cut her off and ran around through another hallway. Hotiku looked back to see him not following her, and then looked back in front of her and saw that he was there. She screamed as she fell to the ground and twisted around. She got back up and ran in the other direction.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Miyako had just turned a corner and saw the stairs again. She started to run faster again, but the boy ran in front of her and blocked her path. She screamed and dived under him and rolled onto her feet, taking off towards the stairs again. She slid down the banister and jumped off the end and ran into a room, which seemed to be the kitchen, where she nearly crashed into someone. They both screamed, and breathed hard when she realized it was Hotiku.   
  
"What the hell is going on?!" Hotiku yelled, just a little too loud. Miyako slapped her hand over her mouth and looked at the entrances to the kitchen. They sighed in relief, but a little early as the guys came in from the left entrance. The girls screamed and ran out the right side. They ran out the back door, and around to the side of the house.   
  
"Look!" Miyako pointed to a car. Without thinking twice, they ran towards the black convertible and jumped in.   
  
"Keys, keys. Where are the damn keys?!" Miyako yelled looking around frantically.  
  
"No time for that!" Hotiku flipped upside down under the steering wheel and pulled out wires behind the pedals.  
  
"You can hotwire a car?!?!" Miyako yelled.   
  
"Can I hotwire a car? Can I hotwire a car?" She repeated, giving her the answer she needed. Miyako spotted the two guys exit the house and see them.   
  
"Hurry up..." She said nervously.  
  
"I'm going as fast as I can! .... Got it!" She flipped right side up and started the engine. She drove off around the corner and speeded down the street.  
  
"You don't know how to drive!!" Miyako shouted.   
  
"There's a first time for everything!" She said.   
  
"Are you crazy?!?!" Miyako looked at her.   
  
"Yup." Hotiku replied.   
  
"Stupid question, stupid answer." said Miyako and turned around to sit down. She buckled her seat belt tightly, looked in the rear-view mirror and paled.   
  
"Um, you're not going to believe this, but Marron's behind us!" Miyako said dryly.  
  
"Why wouldn't I believe that?" Hotiku said still looking ahead.  
  
"Because she's flying." Miyako said and held her head.   
  
"NANI?!?!" Hotiku turned around and looked behind her.   
  
"Watch the road!!" Miyako grabbed the wheel, and tried to control it from her angle. Hotiku turned around and lifted the pedal, so Marron could catch up. When she reached them she flew into the backseat.   
  
"Where are you two going?!" Marron yelled at them.  
  
"Those guys attacked us!!" Miyako yelled back.   
  
"Those guys were trying to see what you were doing in the house!!" She yelled again.  
  
"Stop yelling!!" Hotiku screamed louder than them and slammed her foot on the brakes, making them jerk forward a bit, finally they stopped screaming and started talking normally.  
  
"Well, maybe if you had entered through the front door like a normal person, we wouldn't be in this mess!!" Marron said. Miyako slapped the back of Hotiku's head.  
  
"I told you!!" She said as Hotiku rubbed her head.   
  
"Ow!"   
  
"Well, just come back to their house and we'll settle this whole thing!" Marron said and took off in flight towards the house again. Both girls sighed and Hotiku turned the car around. As they arrived, Hotiku was able to park the car without damaging it. She jumped out followed by Miyako and walked up to the two guys.   
  
"You hotwired my car?!?!" The boy with the purple hair yelled.  
  
"Yeah, so?" Hotiku raised an eyebrow.  
  
"So? SO?!?" He restated.  
  
"Oh yeah, and you need to get an oil change and a new spark plug. And get someone to work on that transmission." Hotiku patted his back and walked past him.  
  
"How does she know that?!" He asked, getting a reply from the other girl.  
  
"Her dad is... er was... or is it is? Anyway, he's a mechanic. Taught her junk like that." Miyako said. Hotiku kept walking, only to run into the other guy. She backed away and paled. He just scowled and walked away. Hotiku let out a sigh of relief and walked over to Marron.   
  
"Oh yeah, guy's these are my friends. Hotiku, Miyako, this is Trunks, and Vegita." She said pointing to both of them.   
  
"Umm, hi." The girls said simultaneously and looked at them. Vegita snorted and Trunks just sweatdropped.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"So, you all felt an unfamiliar ki, and tried to locate it, but it disappeared before you got to it?" Trunks asked.   
  
"Hai, and it moved rapidly when we were in a forest to the other side of it." Marron explained.   
  
"Are you trying to say that these two humans were able to detect the ki? And they were in the gravity room set to 400?" Vegita asked.  
  
"Hai." Marron said slowly afraid of what he might say. Luckily he just growled and looked away.  
  
"Then they're not human...." He muttered, "It's impossible if they were."  
  
"Wait, wait, wait. Let me get this straight. You sensed an unfamiliar ki that you couldn't find, and now you want us to risk our lives to help you find it?" Trunks asked.  
  
"Hai?" Marron said like a question.   
  
"I'm there!" Trunks jumped up scaring the girls.   
  
"Gomen." Trunks apologized and sat back down, pulling out the hat he took from Miyako and put it on his head. Miyako flinched and slowly turned to face Hotiku who was glaring at Trunks.   
  
"Nani?" Trunks asked.  
  
"Gimme that." Hotiku said plainly, but in a low voice.  
  
"Iie, it's mine since you all broke into our house." Trunks said. Miyako twitched and slowly moved her eyes to him.  
  
"Oh, you've done it now! You are so dead!" Miyako stated.   
  
"Give me the damn hat." Hotiku said less calm and more aggressively.  
  
"I said no!" Trunks said, but didn't have anytime to do anything else as Hotiku pounced on him and reached for the hat. Trunks held it away from her, but she punched his chest and took the opportunity to take the hat. She grasped it and got off of him. She flipped the hat around her hand and placed it on her head backwards.  
  
"What the hell is your problem?! It's just a hat!!" Trunks got up and yelled in her face.  
  
"My mother gave me this hat, baka!!" She yelled back at him.  
  
"SO?!" He shouted. Hotiku growled and glared at him.  
  
"Hotiku, honey, maybe you would like to go get something to drink from the fridge?" Miyako pushed her to the kitchen before her friend could cause any more damage, then returned to Trunks.   
  
"What was that all about?" He asked.  
  
"It's the only thing she has left of her mom." Miyako said.  
  
"Nani? Did she die?" Trunks asked.  
  
"Iie, she left her when she was twelve. She's been on her own ever since. She needed a mother, or someone to take care of her during that time of change. She had her older brother who was like a guardian to her, but that's not enough, and now she doesn't even have him. I'm the only one she has left." Miyako explained and looked into the other room to check on her to see if she was okay. Now Trunks felt bad about what he had said.   
  
"I should go apologize." Trunks started walking for the kitchen, but was stopped by Miyako who just shook her head.   
  
"Give her some time. She's used to it anyway, she'll be fine." Just as she said this, Hotiku walked in.   
  
"So are we going to find this ki dude, or not?" She crossed her arms.   
  
"Hai, we should go now." Marron said and headed out the door, followed by everyone else.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The four had made their way into the forest and were now searching for the ki signature. They made their way up about ten feet from a waterfall.   
  
"Why didn't Vegita come with us?" Miyako asked.  
  
"Because he's an arrogant jack-ass." Hotiku answered.  
  
"How could you say that? You just met him." Marron stated.  
  
"Trunks is your dad an arrogant jack ass?" Hotiku asked.  
  
"Well, that's what most people think... including me." He said.  
  
"There you go." Hotiku said and walked past, yet, another tree.   
  
"Just don't tell him I said that or he'll kill me." Trunks followed them.   
  
"Are you guys picking up anything yet?" Miyako asked.  
  
"Not yet." Marron said. Suddenly, Miyako stopped and sat on a rock.   
  
"Mi-chan? What are you doing?" Marron asked her.  
  
"I'm like starting to sweat." She said, causing everyone to facefault, except Hotiku, who was used to it.  
  
"Let me handle this." Hotiku walked past Trunks and Marron. She bent down beside Miyako and looked at her.  
  
"See that waterfall over there?" She pointed to it and Miyako nodded. "We'll go swimming it the lake below if you keep going a few more minutes, 'kay?" she asked. Miyako perked up and walked off.  
  
"Come on, let's move, move, move!" Miyako said and took the lead.  
  
"What did you do?" Trunks asked Hotiku.  
  
"The girl loves swimming." She said plainly.  
  
"What about you?" He asked.  
  
"I like swimming, just not as much as she does. No one loves swimming more than she does. It's like impossible." That said, Hotiku followed Miyako, with Trunks and Marron behind her. Suddenly, Marron and Trunks picked up on the ki, and it was very close. They turned around, but before they could see who was there, a strong force knocked them away over the waterfall. Miyako and Hotiku screamed as they plummeted down to the sharp rocks below. Trunks was able to fly over and catch Hotiku and Marron was able to catch Miyako. They flew over away from the rocks.   
  
"You guys okay?" Trunks asked, but they never got to answer as the force knocked them down into the water. The power was so strong that it knocked them unconscious on impact with the water. Luckily their bodies floated to the shore, before they drowned.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A ship hovers somewhere out in space. It's rough looking on the outside, appearing as if it had been in many battles, but on the inside it was beautifully decorated, as if for royalty. Soldiers watched a large screen in front of them, showing the four teens.   
  
"What should we do now?" A soldier asked the head of the mission.   
  
"Teleport those two," The man pointed to Trunks and Marron, "Back to their homes."   
  
"Yes, sir." The soldier obeyed and pushed multiple lighted squares on the panel in front of him.  
  
"And bring the guardian here."   
  
"What about the heritage?" he asked.  
  
"Leave her, she needs to stay on the planet, we'll send down a rookie to care for her." The man said. The soldier pressed more squares and managed to teleport Miyako to their ship and left Hotiku near the waterfall.  
  
"One more order for today, erase all memories of the heritage and the guardian. We want no one to know about them, not yet." He said, and was about to turn to leave.  
  
"Uh, sir?" The soldier said.  
  
"Nani?" He turned back around.   
  
"Something had happened prior to our encounter with them. They were in a hyper-sleep orbiting the atmosphere of earth for a week. Memories of another life, an entire life up to their age now, are engraved into their minds. Cause... unknown."   
  
"Delete all memories of this "dream," but keep the emotional attachment.... They're going to need it."   
  
"Sir, and the unknown cause of the dream?"   
  
"Dream? Dream...." He thought for a moment for what the cause could have been. Then it came to him.  
  
"Serapis."  
  
  



	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
  
The soldiers on the bridge were all busy trying to bring up information screens. The four scientists by the far wall had their eyes glued to the monitor in front of them, reading thousands of numbers that were flying across the screen. The commander of the mission was getting fed up with waiting when the officer in front of him jumped up from his seat.  
  
"I've got them!" He shouted. The commander stood up abruptly and looked at him with pure joy.  
  
"On screen." He said before the officer pressed a series of buttons, pulling up the files on the large screen in front of them. A short clip of a boy firing a ki blast showed before a digital edit cut into it. A green square moved towards the still picture, where the clip had stopped, selecting the area from his torso up. The screen zoomed in on the selected area and moved over to the right of the screen. A full body image of him appeared on the left side, turning around so they could examine his build. The boy had red, orange, and yellow hair, making it appear like fire. He had green eyes and looked very young.   
  
"Name, Blaine." The computer voice started, "Age, 15. Weight, 154 pounds. Height, 5' 8". Status, twenty thousand. Special, astral projection. Code I.D., Cedric." The computer finished as it moved to another clip of a girl doing a series of backflips. The clip stopped when she snapped her head up on the last flip, raising her arms above her head. She had red hair, brown eyes and looked extremely happy at the time.   
  
"Name, Lily. Age, 15. Weight, 120 pounds. Height, 5' 1". Status, twenty thousand. Special, mind reading. Code I.D., Ginger." Along with the full body image of Blaine, her's moved to a small section in the corner of the screen, as another clip came up. This was of a boy with a gun in hand, hitting all the targets dead on. He lifted the gun and blew the smoke off the end and the clip stopped when a smirk formed on his lips. He had brown hair and black eyes.   
  
"Name, Gabriel. Age, 16. Weight, 155 pounds. Height, 6' 0". Status, twenty-five thousand. Special, teleportation. Code I.D., Taga." The image of him joined the other two and a new image appeared. It showed a girl fighting off three ninjas. She elbowed the one behind her in the face, and dusted off her hands as they all fell on the ground unconscious. She had green hair, in low pigtails and blue eyes.   
  
"Name, Jade. Age, 15. Weight, 123 pounds. Height, 5' 5". Status, twenty-seven thousand. Special, hypnosis. Code I.D., Astria." Her image slide to the side next to Gabriel's and another clip popped up. It was of a boy standing in a line along with many other soldiers. There was a line with soldiers across from them, both lines leading to the two large double doors on the left. A few people walked between them, just as one man walked by, the boy got out of line and attacked the man. He managed to get him face down and held his arm behind his back Real officers arrested the man. The boy had black hair and black eyes.   
  
"Name, Saige. Age, 14. Weight, 160 pounds. Height, 5' 5". Status, thirty-five thousand. Special, appearance of objects. Code I.D., none." His image traveled next to Jade's as a clip of a girl played. She had a knife in either hand and she threw them towards a burgalur, pinning him to a wall. She walked up to him and held out her hand, and he handed her a pouch full of money. She returned it to its owner as the clip ended. She had blue hair, and blue eyes.   
  
"Name, Celeste. Age, 15. Weight, 115 pounds. Height, 5' 0". Status, twenty-three thousand. Special, ki drainage. Code I.D., Mika." Her image stopped next to Saige's and another clip of a boy appeared. He was in a dark alley way, and was surrounded by wolves. In a matter of seconds he managed to kill all of them. He had black hair and black eyes.  
  
"Name, Blade. Age, 17. Weight, 165 pounds. Height, 5' 6". Status, thirty-five thousand. Special, time flucuation. Code I.D., Transwarp." His image made its way next to Celeste's as another clip of a girl appeared. She was arched over a computer screen with calculations running across the screen at a very fast pace. Her fingers danced across the keys and a beeping was heard. Other engineers crowded behind her to see that she had corrected the problem in their circutry in a matter of seconds that they had been trying to figure out for months. She had brown hair, and blue eyes.   
  
"Name, Kalista. Age, 14. Weight, 101 pounds. Height, 5' 4". Status, thirty thousand. Special, control over water. Code I.D., Miyako." Just before this image left, the commander asked if they had already transported her onto the ship. After the officer nodded they resumed. A clip of a boy appeared. He had been surrounded by demons and he stood perfectly still. He pulled out a wooden stake and was able to disintegrate them all. He twirled the stake up in his hand and clamped his hand on it before putting it away. He put his hands on the opening of his leather jacket and straightened it out. He had blonde hair, and blue eyes.   
  
"Name, Eclipse. Age, 14. Weight, 140 pounds. Height, 5' 6". Status, thirty-seven thousand. Special, premonitions. Code I.D., Zack." His picture left and the final clip opened. A girl was in a red lighted room, fighting off six elite warriors. She had managed to knock unconscious five of them as the last one rushed at her, she held out her hand, knocking it back into a wall with an invisible force. The lights turned to normal, and her surroundings disappeared to show that she was actually in a field of wild flowers. She turned around and smiled. She had black, curly, hair and green eyes.   
  
"Name, Casaretta. Age, 14. Weight, 103 pounds. Height, 5' 3.5". Status, fourty thousand. Special, telekinesis. Code I.D., Hotiku." The computer pulled up the other eight images and seperated them evenly across the screen.   
  
"The Guardians of the Royal Empire. Sworn to protect the Heritage. All were apprehended at an average age of three and were experimented on, genetically altered into the perfect soldiers before sent off in different directions. Two were found, but now are seperated again for they had no knowlegde of their pasts due to--" The computer was cut off as the screen blacked out and a motion picture of a man with a strange white aura around him appeared. The commander growled low in his throat at the appearance of the man.   
  
"Serapis." He spat, "What did you do?! Why were they put asleep for an entire week!?" He yelled.  
  
"Whoa, chill out, dude. They woke up, didn't they?" He said cockily.  
  
"Serapis, you may be the god of dreams, but that still doesn't mean that we can't banish you! Now fix the trouble you've caused!" He demanded.   
  
"Hey, hey. What's done is done! I can't undo what has happened."  
  
"DO IT, OR YOU'LL NEVER GIVE ANYONE DREAMS EVER AGAIN!!" The commander threatened.   
  
"Alright, I told you I can't, but here's what I'll do. The two that I took, I'll give them powers." he said.   
  
"Powers?" The commander questioned.   
  
"Hai, the stronger one, I'll get Hephastus to grant her the power to control anything that relates to heat. And the other, I'll expand her power of water to give her access to all things that relate to cold. How about that?" He negotiated.  
  
"It's not good enough."   
  
"Alright! I'll give them all control of the other gaurdians special skills! Except for that Transwarp dude. I can't take his away. Is that okay?" He changed his plans.  
  
"Well, the other's don't know they have their powers, so... Alright, do it." He said, and Serapis nodded.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
*tourny* *sheik* *school* *meeting with granpa goku & uubu aka the damn bastard*  



	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
Gohan was walking through the woods, getting home after chopping down some fire wood. His Saiya-jin hearing picked up on a noise to his left, it sounded like a whimper. He made his way towards whatever it was until he could make out _what_ it was. It was a child, sitting on a tree stump hugging their knees. He could barely make out what they were saying because they were talking so softly.  
"Why did you leave me, Toby-chan? I'm all alone, no one wants me anymore. Where'd you go?" Gohan managed to hear. As he got closer he could see that the child was a little girl, about five years old, from what he could tell. He walked up to her and looked her in the eye.  
"Ohayo, dooshite?" he asked her.   
"Toby's gone, he left me alone." she replied. Gohan sat down next to her, and put down the firewood.   
"How long ago did he leave you?" he asked.  
"About a year ago." she sat Indian-style and faced him, rocking back and forth. Gohan stopped resting and sat up abruptly.  
"Nani?! You've been by yourself for a year?!" he shouted, causing her to wince at his booming voice.  
"Gomen," he apologized. she rubbed her ear while laughing softly.  
"You're funny, I like you, mister," she smiled up at him.   
"Do you have any place to go?" he knelt down next to her. As she shook her head, he hoiste4d up the firewood on his shoulder and stood up.  
"Do you want to come live with me?" he offered. Answering him, she climbed up his leg and onto his free shoulder. As Gohan walked home with the little girl on his shoulder, she tried to catch a butterfly that was passing by. It landed on her nose making her sneeze. Gohan chuckled softly and opened the door to his home.   
"Videl!" Gohan yelled through the house, "I have a surprise for you!"  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
"Tay-chan, could you please clear the table?" Videl asked the little girl.  
"Hai, Kaasan!" she jumped up and quickly gathered the dishes and walked to the sink. Just as she reached it, Goku teleported into the room, surprising them all.   
"Ohayo!! I'm supposed to bring over these cookies from Chi-Chi." Videl looked into the plate to see nothing there.  
"Where are they all?" she asked.  
"I kinda ate them all on the way here," he sheepishly grinned. Just then Gohan and Videl jumped in front of Taylor as she walked back. "What's that?" Goku asked, "what are you hiding?"  
"Nothing!!" They blocked his path as he tried to move around them. Suddenly, Goku dropped under them and stared at the little girl in front of him.  
"Ossu, who are you?" Goku looked at her.  
"Watashi wa Son Taylor, " she said, hiding behind Gohan's leg. Goku looked up as Gohan slapped his forehead and sighed.  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
"Are you sure about this?" Videl asked Taylor, who turned around and faced her.  
"Hai, Okaasan. Don't worry about me, " she slung her bag over her shoulder.  
"Promise me you'll be careful," Gohan told her.  
"You know me," she smirked.  
"I know," he said, "promise!!" he emphasized, making her chuckle.  
"Sayonara, Otousan, Okaasan, " she turned around to leave, "We'll meet again," she whispered before taking off into the forest.  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
"Okay, so what you're saying is that, basically, I have another granddaughter..." said Chi-Chi, receiving nods from Gohan and Videl. Chi-Chi moved her eyes towards Goku, "you knew about this?" she asked, surprisingly calm, and Goku nodded his head fearfully. Suddenly, she jumped up and started to choke him. "And you didn't tell me?!" she yelled in his face.  
Taylor sat in the corner, by herself watching the humorous scene.  
"Poor Ojiisan," she thought. Goten glanced over to Taylor and noticed her amused expression.  
She's probably the only one who's not going to be afraid of Mom when she's on a warpath, he thought to himself. Suddenly, he noticed that Taylor had gotten up. She looked at her watch.   
"Well, it's getting late. It was really cool to meet up with everyone again, but I have to get back home, I'll see ya'll later!" she picked up her bag and walked out the door.  
"You think she got lost yet?" Goten asked everyone. Just then, Taylor walked back in. She walked up to Gohan and Videl, and she hugged them.  
"Ja! And you know you should really make a map or something! It's really easy for someone to get lost in here. It'd be a lot easier for someone to leave by just going out the window, ja ne, minna!!" She jumped off the balcony, facing them. Everyone ran out to see if she was okay. Suddenly, she popped her head up from the lower floor.  
"Nani? Did you miss me already?" she smirked and jumped off and grabbed the drain pipe. As she slid down it and landed _safely_ on the ground, she waved up at them before turning and leaving.   
"I'll go with her," said Goten and jumped down. As soon as he caught up with her, he asked some questions he couldn't exactly say in front of everyone.  
"So, you're my niece?" he asked, making her laugh.  
"No, of course not!! Look, just think of your family as a hotel, and I'm just crashing in!" she explained, "Well, here we are!" she pointed to a very large, very hidden, very decorated, tree house. It reminded Goten of the royal boat that Cleopatra had sailed in. (Yeah, that's right, he was actually paying attention in class that day. ;) )  
"You live here?" asked Goten, receiving a nod of recognition from her. Suddenly, Sheik jumped down from the tree house.  
"Konni, Sheik!" she greeted the woman, but received no reply. Taylor started to walk up to her, but was stopped when she held up a small tube. Sheik quickly put her mouth to it and sent a dart flying towards Taylor from the tube. It injected into her neck, leaving her on the brink of consciousness. A portal appeared behind Sheik, and she disappeared through it after giving Taylor a cold stare. Taylor was rendered unconscious as the substance in the dart coursed through her veins. Goten rushed to her side and caught her before she fell to the ground. Pulling the dart out of her neck, he rushed her back to Capsule Corp. before it was too late.   
  



	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6  
  
"I'm gonna be late!!!" A petite girl with brown hair and a white streak yelled throughout her new house. Her voice echoed of the walls due to the lack of furniture they had put up.   
  
"Nobody cares, Trinity!!" A tall young man walked up the stairs in front of her. He had black hair and a red cap over it. Trinity glared at him; her family had just moved into a small home and they were still unpacking.  
  
"Shawn, take her to her class!! I'm too busy getting things ready!!" Her father's voice was heard from upstairs. Trinity rested her arm on the banister of the stairs and leaned on it.  
  
"Why do I have to take her?!" Shawn's deep voice rang in her ears. He and her father kept arguing about who was going to take her.  
  
"Arrrgh!!" Trinity slammed her hand on the small pouch sitting on the table in front of her, picked it up, and headed towards the front door.   
  
"You take her!!" SLAM!! Shawn poked his head through his room's door.  
  
"Come in!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Trinity walked into the dojo and took off her shoes before running to the back and changing into her gi and pants. As soon as she came out, a man was right in her face.  
  
"Why are you late?! You've wasted time!! Give me 10 extra laps!" he pointed in the direction in which she was to run.  
  
"I'm sorry!" she said and proceeded in running her fifty-five laps. Panting, she came to a stop, "Finally, I'm done.." she muttered. She walked over and stood in line with the other students and stretched out.   
  
"Whatsa matta, Heaven? Too tired? Your shortness pulling out your stamina?" A boy her age, sitting next to her, teased.  
  
"Shut up, Jeramie. And I told you not to call me Heaven." Trinity stretched out her hamstrings, and went into a split. She hated it when people called her by her real name, Heaven Leigh. Why did her parents have to name her that? Didn't they know that everyone would make fun of her? Think she was a goodie goodie, an innocent, naïve weak girl. That's why she changed her name to Trinity. Not too far off based from her real name, but at least she wouldn't be made assumptions about. They had finished warming up and were getting partnered up by their Master.  
  
"Oooh, lil' Heaven said shut up! She's getting angry, what's she gonna do? Be my guardian angel?" he teased. Unfortunately for him, Trinity ended up being his partner.  
  
"You are so dead," she sunk into a fighting stance.   
  
"Ooo, I'm so scared!" he said sarcastically, and jabbed at her. She grabbed his wrist and twisted it. With her free arm, she elbowed him in the jaw, sending him to the ground. Jeramie rolled to his feet and performed a sidekick, sending Trinity a few feet away. She did a backwards roundhouse kick, then a snap kick. Unfortunately for her, he caught her foot and twisted it, but she retaliated by jumping up and kicking him with her other leg, sending them both to the matted floor. Everyone else had stopped their katas and circled around them to watch. Jeramie and Trinity both flipped up to their feet and held up their hands defensively. Jeramie jumped up and was getting ready to kick her, when she bent to the side and brought her leg up and nailed him in the jaw, sending him back to the ground. Jeramie rose to his feet and charged at her with vengeance.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
"How could you two be so blinded by your anger? How many times have I taught you not to let your emotions interfere with your training?" Trinity and Jeramie were sitting side by side in their Master's office as he paced back and forth in front of them. They were battered and bruised, Trinity had a few cuts, and her hair was all over her face, but Jeramie was much worse off than she was.  
  
"We're sorry, forgive us Master," they both said with their heads down.  
  
"Explain yourselves!" he demanded.  
  
"Well, he-" "She started---" they both began in unison.  
  
"I don't want to even hear it!" he interrupted them, causing them to look to the ground again. "You two are prohibited to have any contact with each other while in this dojo or my presence. Is that understood?"   
  
"Yes, Master," they said.  
"Good, you are both dismissed," and with that they picked up their bags and headed out the door.   
  
"You better watch what you do, Heaven," Jeramie turned around to walk his way home.  
  
"I'll watch myself kick your ass if you don't get out of my face," she glared at him and turned away to walk home.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Everyone was getting ready to leave, putting on their shoes, when Goten burst through the door with Taylor in his arms.  
  
"What happened to her?" Videl cried.  
  
"Sheik, dart, K'oed, help, now..." was all the out of breath Goten could manage to say.  
  
"Hurry get her to the medical wing!" Bulma ran down the winding corridors towards the medical center. The artificial lights bouncing off their quickly moving figures. Bulma skidded to a halt and ran into the room on her left. Goten, behind her, set Taylor on the bed and placed a wet clothe on her forehead.   
  
"What's wrong with her?" Goten asked as Taylor subconsciously gripped the sheets. Bulma flicked the syringe in her hand and injected an antiseptic into her body. Taylor's muscles relaxed, and Bulma stuck an IV in her arm.   
  
"I don't know yet, Goten, let me get the results first," she replied quickly typing in command codes into the computer. Gohan, Videl, Goku, and Chi-chi all gathered around Taylor in hopes of seeing some kind of reaction from her.   
  
"Is she going to be alright?" "What's happening now?" "Why aren't you doing anything?" We're only some of the questions that emerged from them. Bulma finally got fed up with them all and slammed her hands on the table.  
  
"I can't help her if you all don't crowd around! Now all of you, out!!" She pointed to the door. They all started to walk out the door when Bulma stopped Goten.  
"Not you, I need you to help me run the exams," she grabbed his arm, and shut the door behind the rest.   
  
"Me? Why me?" he asked.  
  
"I'll have to admit that you aren't the best choice," she said," but you're the only one who isn't going fanatical right now." Goten nodded and preceded to help her.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Yeah, Dad? Yeah, I'm going to be a little late coming home. I just finished my kickboxing class; I'm on my way home though. I've gotta pick up something from Ronnie's alright?" Trinity said.   
  
"Alright, but hurry home, if not, we'll all starve. You've still gotta make us dinner!" her father said.  
  
"Can't you make a sandwich while I'm gone??" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, but it doesn't turn out as well," he said.  
  
"Whatever. Ciao ciao," she hung up her cell phone and started to dial Veronica's phone number. One ring... two rings...  
  
"Hello?" Veronica's voice was heard on the other line.  
  
"Ronnie? Hi, it's me. Listen I've got a favor to ask ya," she started.  
  
"Okay, what is it?"   
  
"Well, I'm about to turn the corner in front of your house, and I just came back from kickboxing... ummm I got into another fight and-" she started.  
  
"Oh no, not again. Lemme guess, was it George?"   
  
"Nope, it was-"   
  
"Alex, it has to have been him," she interrupted her. "No, he's in California now, Jeramie right?" she guessed again.  
  
"Yeah, it's Jeramie, so can you-"  
  
"Patch work? Sure, I'll sneak you in from the back."   
"Thanks, Ronnie." Trinity hung up, and snuck behind her house. A red ribbon hung from Veronica's bedroom window signaling that the coast was clear. Trinity climbed up the vine gate and onto the roof. She tapped lightly on the window, and waited for Veronica to open it.   
  
"It's about time you got here," she whispered and opened her window, allowing her to come in. Trinity sat on her bed, while she went to get the 'supplies' from her bathroom. When she came back, she dabbed some liquid on a cotton swab and tapped it on the cut on Trinity's cheek.  
  
"Ow!!" she cried, "what the hell is this?? It stings!!" she looked at the bottle to see it the label. "Veronica! This is rubbing alcohol!! Get it off, it burns!!!!" she yelled, wiping it off. Suddenly there was a knock at the door.  
  
"Veronica? Is everything alright?" her mother's voice was heard. They looked at each other with panic. "Who are you talking to?" she asked. Trinity hopped off her bed and looked around for a place to hide. Veronica led her to the closet.  
  
"Oh, no one, Mom. That's the T.V. You know how I talk back to it!" she made up an excuse. "Don't get any blood over my clothes," she whispered to Trinity. She gave Veronica a 'well what do you want me to do? I can't help it' look, gesturing with her hands. Veronica closed the door to her closet just as her mom walked in.  
  
"Honey, what's going on here?" Her mother eyed her suspiciously as she hugged the closet door. "You're acting as if you're hiding someone in here,"   
  
Veronica gave her a nervous laugh to compliment her nervous look. "No, Mom, you know me, I would never do that!" She put her hands behind her head.  
  
"Well, I just came to tell you to go to bed soon. Alright?" her mother turned towards the door.  
  
"Yes, yes, Mom. Of course!" SLAM!! She closed the door behind her mother and leaned against it. "Whew! That was wayyy too close!" she flew open the door of the closet, as Trinity took a huge breath.  
  
"Gawd!! I thought I was going to suffocate!!"   
  
"Oh, quit playing around!" she dragged her back to the bed.   
  
"Ouch! Hey, no rubbing alcohol this time!" she complained.  
  
"Heh, heh, oops,"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Bulma's fingers rapidly flowed across the keyboard, typing up command codes.  
  
"Have you figured out what's wrong yet?" Goten asked. No reply.  
  
"Goten, look! Whatever Sheik injected into her body is reinforcing something in her brain patterns. Look," she printed out her brain wave patterns to show them erratically jumping.   
  
"Is that normal?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the pattern.  
  
"No, it's not." She said. Suddenly, her brain waves made a huge jump. Goten turned around to see Taylor's body arch up.   
  
"What's happening?" he asked Bulma frantically. She swiveled over to her computer and brought up her cell structure on the monitor and zoomed in on her blood stream.   
  
"The antiseptic I injected into her... her body is rejecting it. I have to flush it out of her system, now!!" she ran over to the IV and started the procedure as quickly as she could. Taylor's muscles relaxed again as she fluttered her eyes open. She turned her head to the side.  
  
"Goten?" she asked, unsure of her surroundings.   
  
"Yeah, its me, are you okay?" he grasped her hand.   
  
"I-I don't know. What happened?" she asked, sitting up, but quickly regretted it as a wave of pain raked through her body. She groaned and lay back down.  
  
"You have to rest," he said. Taylor looked over to Bulma.  
  
"Who are you?" she asked.  
  
"Taylor, this is Bulma, don't you remember? You just met her a few hours ago," he explained.   
  
"No, I don't remember. Actually, come to think of it, I can't remember what's happened at all!" she said. Goten looked up at Bulma, then back to Taylor.   
  
"Amnesia?" he asked her.  
  
"No, if she can't remember only a few hours, it can't be that severe. Maybe it was something Sheik gave her." Bulma looked at the monitor.  
  
"Sheik? What did Sheik do to me?" she asked, panic written all over her face.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"So, she injected me with a fluid?" Taylor asked, receiving a nod of recognition.   
  
"Honey, I think it'll be best if you come back to stay with us," Videl suggested.   
  
"Alright, let me just get my stuff." She said, getting up.  
  
"You have to rest, Taylor." Goten said.   
  
"Oh, I'm fine, I recover faster than normal people do," she said and walked to the balcony. "I'll be back soon," she said before jumping off the railing and down to the ground, safely.   
  
"She did it again," Goten slapped his forehead.   
  
"That girl's going to be trouble," Vegita muttered, and walked out of the room.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Taylor walked through the field of waist-high, tan grass before she had to cut through a small forest. Weaving in and out of the trees, she finally managed to clear through them. Spotting the tree house she had been living in, she climbed up the bamboo ladder to the top, and shut the trap door.   
  
"Well this turned out to be a fine day," she said sarcastically and gathered her belongings before walking to the edge of the platform. She grabbed onto a rope that acted as a pulley and rested her feet on the large knot. Her weight dropped her down to the ground, lifting the bucket of stones on the other end. As she let go, the bucket dropped to the floor, scattering stones everywhere. She readjusted the duffel bag on her shoulder and walked back to Capsule Corp.   
  
"I'm back, everyone!" she shouted from the doorway. Dropping her bag on the floor with a loud thud, she crossed her arms as they all made their way down. Vegita stayed at the top of the stairs and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, glaring at her. Taylor noticed this and glared back at him.   
  
"Alright, let's go," Gohan picked up her bag and slung it over his shoulder. Taylor walked over to Goten and gave him a friendly hug.  
  
"I'll see you around, Goten," she said, before Pan wrapped herself around her leg.   
  
"Tay-chan, let's go, you get to live with me again!" she said.  
  
"Ah, little Panny, now isn't that just dandy?" she said sarcastically, causing Goten to chuckle.   
  
"Ciao, ciao, everyone!" Taylor picked up Pan and walked out the door.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"This," Videl opened the door to an empty room, "is your new room!"   
  
"Perfect, just perfect," she threw her duffel bag into the corner of the room.   



	7. Chapter 7

Unknown Realms  
  
Chapter 7-Back home   
  
I wonder how everyone is doing… thought Trunks as he drummed his fingers on the food tray in front of him. He had finally snuck out of the "prison school" as he called it, and bought a plane ticket to return to Satan City. Or was it that he was kicked out?   
  
Goten better have a girlfriend by now, hmmm. I think I'll challenge him to a sparring match, just to make sure I haven't softened up. Then again, I did promise Pan I would take her for ice cream when I got back… But Mom'll want me to study more, then Dad'll want me to train, but I've gotta get a date for Saturday night, and… he slammed his hand on the food tray, surprisingly not breaking it.   
  
"Arrrgh!! So many things to do…" he ran a hand through his silky lavender hair. Letting out a heavy sigh, he put his hands behind his head and waited for the flight to be over.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
  
Taylor walked around the city, holding the small bag in front of her. Sighing she reached one hand up and held onto her forehead.   
  
"Man, this really bites, there's no one around to talk to, no action, and no good stores to blow off all this cash…" she ran her hand through her hair. As if on cue, three scruff-looking guys came out from the alleys around her, chains and brass knuckles in their hands.   
  
"Hey, babe, looking for a good time?" one of them said. She looked over her shoulder at him and frowned.   
  
"Not unless you wanna get your ass kicked," she looked in front of her and kept walking. The man growled and cut her off by stepping in front of her.   
  
"You know it's not nice to ignore someone when they're talking to you," he smirked.   
  
"And its also not nice to do this," she picked up her small bag and hit him across the face with it, breaking its contents.   
  
"You'll pay for that," he held his face and looked at her with anger in his eyes.   
  
"Really? Cash or charge?" she dropped the bag and crossed her arms. Suddenly, he jumped at her only to be met by the cold hard pavement, as she moved out of the way. The other two guys rushed at her, but she ducked and they crashed into each other.   
  
"Get her!" he yelled, setting her off in a mad dash down the street. As they chased after her, she ran down an alley, knocking over trashcans, boxes, crates, anything there while hopping over them.   
  
"Well, this certainly is interesting," she thought.   
  
~*~*~   
  
Trunks picked up his luggage and walked out of the airport. He quickly capsulized his bags and walked off towards Satan City. After walking a few blocks, he heard strange noises coming from an alley ahead of him. He stopped walking as he saw a girl just knock over a trashcan and run out of the alley, running in front of him to the other side of the street. Without having anyone notice him, he blurred across the street to watch. Three men followed her, as all four of them barely dodge on-coming cars. The girl had just reached the sidewalk when the guy behind her snapped the chain around her ankle, sending her to the floor. She twisted around and kicked him square in the jaw, releasing the chain from her foot. Not a second later, she jumped to her feet and ran into the park away from the gang. A few more of them had joined the three before and had now managed to surround her. Trunks stood a fair distance away behind a tree, ready to come in at any time if needed.   
  
"Listen, babe, you've made us work for our prize, and we don't like to work," one man said.   
  
"Prize? I'm sorry I must have been mistaken, because the only prize you're going to get is a fat lip, if you don't get out of my way!!" she yelled.   
  
"Oh, boys, the little girl thinks she's tough, isn't that cute?"   
  
"Little?! From this distance I don't think you know what you're up against," her eyes flashed with an eerie glint. One man had had enough of this and launched an attack to her back, with a bat. She quickly snapped her hand up and caught the bat in her bare hand and glared at the man. He shifted his gaze to the other men with unexpected horror. Before any of them could react, she sent the man into two others with a sidekick.   
  
Trunks looked on, impressed at what this girl was showing. "I wonder where she learned to fight like that," he thought. She had just punched the last man in the gut and brought her elbow down on the back of his neck, knocking him down. She stepped over him and dropped the bat.   
  
"Men, they never learn…" he heard her mumble, causing him to smirk. He was about to come out and confront her when she looked down at her watch and face faulted. "I am so late!!" She hopped over the guys on the floor and ran as fast as she could towards her home.   
  
"That was… different," said Trunks.   
  
~*~*~   
  
Taylor had been up since four o'clock in the morning, rearranging and decorating her room… without food. And after that incident she was already tired. She dipped the roller brush in the pan of paint that sat next to her feet on top of a rag. She lifted the brush and smeared the navy blue paint on the wall. She was wearing her overalls and a tank top underneath.   
  
"I'm running low," she mumbled and reached into her pocket, pulling out a hand full of silver glitter. She blew it out of her hand and waved her hand around to spread it. Suddenly a horrible, nauseating feeling churned in her stomach. She grasped her midsection and dropped down on her haunches. Just then Videl walked into the room.   
  
"Honey, are you okay?" she rushed to her side, in hopes of helping her.   
  
"Yeah, Kaasan, just a little hungry. Don't worry about it," she lied. Taylor knew it was much worse than that. It probably has something to do with whatever Sheik injected in me… she thought. Videl help her stand up.   
  
"Well then, you're coming with me. We're going to put some food in you! You haven't eaten in twelve hours!" she walked by her side down the stairs.   
  
"Oh, mother! Please, I've gone more than twenty-four hours without food on several occasions!!" she whined.   
  
Videl looked at her with shock written all over her face. "Twenty-four hours?!? Kami, no wonder you're so thin!!" she pinched the skin on Taylor's side.   
  
"Ow! Kaasan! That hurt!" she sat down at the table. "So what are we having?" she tried to see into the pot from her angle.   
  
"The usual…" she answered simply.   
  
"Aw, mama, ramen again?" she teased. Videl hit the top of Taylor's head with a wooden spoon.   
  
"No, it's not ramen. It's teriyaki chicken." She stirred it.   
  
"Kaasan, can you hurry it up? I really do not want that paint to set just yet, I still have to add some more accessories!!" she whined.   
  
"Quit being so impatient… there!" she handed a dish of food to her. She quickly ate it up, and ran upstairs to finish her work.   
  
Sighing Videl leaned against the counter, "that girl will never learn…"   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Trunks grabbed a cab and headed for Pan's house. He could have flown, but he didn't want to let anyone sense his ki coming. When he arrived, he walked up to the front door, faint rock music could be heard, and was about to knock, but found that it was already open.   
  
"Konnichiwa? Is anyone home?" he asked, the music getting somewhat louder when he opened the door. Hearing no answer he started walking up the stairs to see where the music was coming from.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~   
  
Taylor had finished painting and had managed to get a bed, stereo and a few other tables into the room. She had put on one of her CD's and had put it up fairly high, since Videl had said she was going out shopping with Pan, and Gohan was at work. She had changed into black shorts and a light blue spaghetti strap. Chewing gum, she flipped through a journal and looked for an empty page. She put the cap on her pen and started writing.   
  
Today, I finished decoratin' ma room; it looks cool. When I put the black light on at night, it'll look like the sky, only inside…. Listenin to a new rock band… their good… I guess… well gotz nuttin else to rite, so ciao ciao   
  
Taylor jumped off her bed and bent down on the floor. She lifted a loose board in the floor and pried open another one. She dropped the journal inside and pulled out a cd player and magazine. She jumped down on the boards, setting them back in place. She hopped on her bed and put in one of her favorite punk bands in the cd player. She put the headphones on and turned off the stereo. She flipped on her stomach and placed her feet on her pillow. Chewing gum, she flipped through her, The Car Magazine, and slightly rocked her head with the music. She swayed her feet back and forth; one of her legs was bandage from her knee to her ankle. She had somehow gotten wounded, even though she didn't remember how.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
  
Hearing the music turn off, Trunks noted that someone was in the room. He made his way up the stairs and stood outside the room, looking at the door. He looked at the signs that were plastered on the door. 'Stay out!' 'I have PMS be afraid, be very afraid' a biohazard sign, and 'Get the hell away from my room.' Trunks smirked and quietly opened the door. As he looked in he could only stare. She looked vaguely familiar to him, although he didn't know from where he'd seen her before. He certainly didn't remember meeting her. Of course, he remembered her from before in the park when she was in a fight, but that wasn't it. He watched as she flipped pages of a magazine, he couldn't make out what kind it was, she blew a bubble with her gum, and mumbled the lyrics to the song she was listening to. Suddenly, her eyes widened and her mouth was hanging open, her gum falling on the floor.   
  
"Ooo, five second rule," she reached over the foot of her bed and quickly picked up the gum and popped it back into her mouth.   
  
"That was six seconds," he chuckled. And watched as she stood on her bed and folded the magazine half, looking at one page.   
  
"Oh, now this one has a nice body… perfect for a Saturday night date…" she bit her finger. Trunks looked at her, not believing she was looking at a porn magazine, or so he thought, "Thirty thousand dollars?! Oh, come on you can sell for cheaper than that!" Trunks did a double take, and luckily she didn't see him. She turned around, still standing on her bed and reached up to the ceiling, opening a trap door and placing the magazine inside of it. While she was turned around, Trunks walked behind her to get a closer look. He noticed that she had her leg bandaged.   
  
Wonder how she got that… he thought, but didn't have enough time as she swung around, performing a roundhouse kick to his head. He barely managed to catch her leg, but felt a stinging sensation in his arms, which shouldn't have happened even if he was caught off guard. He looked up at her, a glare on her face.   
  
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" she said in a low, dangerous voice.   
  
"I could ask you the same thing," said Trunks.   
  
"I asked you first," she narrowed her eyes at him.   
  
"Well, I'm not going to answer until you answer me," he stated.   
  
"Well, I won't answer you until you let go of my leg," she said. Trunks looked at his hands to see that he was still grasping her leg. He quickly let go of it and laughed nervously. Taylor brought her leg around and jumped off her bed, turning off her cd player.   
  
"I live here, and it was four seconds, not six," she walked past him. Trunks face faulted and turned around to follow her.   
  
"What do you mean you live here?" he asked. Taylor walked down the stairs and leaned on the banister, looking at him.   
  
"Read my lips. I-live-here," she picked up her cell phone and leaned against the wall. "Who are you?" she looked up at him.   
  
"I came to see Pan, I'm Trunks," he said.   
  
"She ain't here," she started to dial a number. Trunks put his hand over the phone and looked at her. Taylor only stared at his hand.   
  
"You know what I need?" he asked smugly.   
  
"New fingers if you don't get your hand off my phone," said Taylor. Trunks scoffed, but lifted his hand.   
  
"No, I need your name," he crossed his arms.   
  
"Well, you're not getting it," she held the phone up to her ear. Trunks raised an eyebrow.   
  
"You've got an attitude thing, ya know that?" he remarked.   
  
"That's what my hat says," she turned around and walked into the kitchen. Trunks read the words on her hat and looked at her back blankly.   
  
"Well, since Pan's not here, I'll be going now," Trunks turned around to leave. Taylor turned off the phone and set it on the table. She sighed and gave him a weak smile. Trunks was just about to leave when he heard a scream from the kitchen and ran back in. Upon arrival he saw Taylor holding her head, her face twisted in pain. He ran up to her in concern.   
  
"Are you okay? What's wrong?" he held her by the shoulders, forcing her to look at him. She switched her gaze towards the phone on the table.   
  
"Goten, get Goten," she managed to say before her pupils dilated and blackness took over her. Trunks stared at her, perplexed.   
  
Is she Goten's girlfriend? He got a good one… he thought, before reaching for the phone and dialing his number. One ring… two rings… three rings…   
  
"Goten here,"   
  
"Goten, it's Trunks…"   
  
"Trunks?! When did you get back?!" He shouted into the phone.   
  
"No time for that now…" Trunks tried to explain things to him again before he was interrupted.   
  
"Wait a second… why are you on Tay's phone?" he asked.   
  
"That's what I've been trying to tell you!! She just blacked out, she told me to call you!!" he yelled into the phone. Goten had to hold the phone away from his ear.   
  
"Shit, get her over here now," he said before hanging up and running to get the supplies Bulma had given him.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~   
  
"What's wrong with her?" Trunks asked, occasionally glancing at her. Taylor was laid across Goten's bed, beads of sweat appearing on her forehead. Trunks dabbed a wet cloth on it, then looked up at Goten to see that he had a grin on his face.   
  
"What?!" said Trunks.   
  
"You like her, don't you?" he grinned even wider.   
  
"What?! Goten she's your girlfriend, isn't she?" he looked from Taylor to Goten, then back to Taylor. Goten did a double take and face faulted as soon as he got up.   
  
"No, she's not my girlfriend!!" He shouted just a little too loud, waking up Taylor.   
  
"Who has a girlfriend?!" her eyes darted back and forth between Goten and Trunks. They both sweatdropped, and Trunks helped her stand up.   
  
"Thanks, umm, I'm sorry about earlier…" she apologized to Trunks.   
  
Waving his hand, he said, "don't worry about it, I did kinda walk in on you,"   
  
"You walked in on her changing?!" Goten stared. Taylor smacked the back of his head, while Trunks slapped his forehead.   
  
"Kami, Goten, you really are dense!" she put her hands on her hips.   
  
"So what exactly happened to you?" Trunks asked Taylor. She blinked and turned around to look at him.   
  
"Well, someone I trusted injected me with some fluid… it makes me black out every once and a while… then I can't remember what has happened for like two or three hours before. It's 'disillusion.'" She explained. Trunks nodded now understanding why she had gone unconscious. Taylor looked straight ahead of her, getting a distant look in her eyes. Goten looked over to her, noticing this.   
  
"She's disillusioning again!!" he picked her up and swung her over his shoulder.   
  
"Goten, you baka!! I am not!!!" she hit the back of his head. Goten dropped her forcefully on the bed, causing her to bounce backwards and roll off the bed.   
  
"Ahh!" she fell off and landed with a thud, "ow…" they heard her from behind the bed. As she reached her hand up to pull herself up onto the bed, Goten rubbed the back of his head.   
  
"Heh, heh… oops," was all he could say.   
  
"Whaddya say we all go out on the town for some fun?" Trunks suggested.   
  
"Sure, why not?" Goten looked at Taylor for a response. Taylor glared at him, then looked at Trunks.   
  
"Okay, whatever," she jumped over the side and jumped on Goten's back, scaring the poor boy.   
  
"Ahh!" he screamed, making Taylor and Trunks laugh.   
  
"Not scared of girls, are you?" Taylor joked, jumping off.   
  
"No.." said Goten, pitifully.   
  
"Let's go," Trunks started to walk out, recovered from laughing. Taylor and Goten followed him out to the streets of Satan City, looked at different stores, and buying whatever they thought looked cool.   
  
  
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	8. Chapter 8

Unknown Realms   
  
  
  
Chapter 8   
  
"Sir, we have a bit of a situation," a technician on board the ship cautiously approached the commander.   
  
"What is it? Is the guardian's re-training program malfunctioning?" he asked. He walked towards the small dome room that held a girl with brown hair and blue eyes. She was kicking repeatedly at a punching bag. It had been repaired countless times, patched up in the places she had created holes in. As it swung back and forth from her forceful blows, the technician stood beside the commander as he watched.   
  
"No, sir. Her progress is excellent, much faster than any other species." he replied.   
  
"That's because she's a guardian," he replied smugly. She gave one last roundhouse kick, and covered her head with her glove-covered hands as it exploded, sending sand flying everywhere. She put her hands on her hips, giving the technicians glare, demanding a new program. "So what's the problem?" he turned to the technician, giving him a threatening glare.   
  
He swallowed hard, and said, "S-s-sir, the files we had g-given you, they-they were umm," he stuttered.   
  
"Well? I haven't got all day!" he shouted.   
  
"Sir, they were... out of date," he backed away.   
  
The commander's face paled, "how much out of date were they?" Before he had a chance to answer he interrupted him. "No, just give me the new files." As if on cue, the new statistics appeared on the screen. The commander paled even more, looking back at the girl in the chamber as she raised a powerful ki blast above her head. "Their power levels.... they're twenty times higher......Casaretta, eight-hundred thousand.... Eclipse, seventy-four hundred thousand....... Kalista, six hundred thousand.... wait, what about Saige? Where're his statistics?" he looked down at the technician.   
  
"Sir, he disappeared after those other statistics were taken, sir?" he looked up at him.   
  
"What is it?"   
  
"Sir, he was captured by Rain.... and.. on his way to Earth."   
  
"WHAT?!?" the commander shouted, shaking the entire room. "Send out a message to as many of the guardians as possible. Alert them of this, and send them all to Earth."   
  
"Yes, sir," the technician ran off to give the orders. While he was doing this, the commander found something interesting in the statistics.   
  
"They're a year older...... their power increased twenty times in one year......" he mumbled.   
  
~*~*~   
  
Laughing, the three teens burst into Capsule Corp., their arms full of bags. They set them down and rested against the wall.   
  
"Goten, I can't believe you actually said that to that poor girl!" Taylor placed her hand on her chest to try and steady her breathing.   
  
"I know! What kind of pick-up line is that!?" Trunks started to walk into the kitchen, with Goten and Taylor following him.   
  
"It's not my fault!!" he whined, causing them both to snicker. Taylor popped a soda can open and sat on top of the counter, swinging her legs back and forth.   
  
"Oh yeah, she just asked to have that said to her!" She rolled her eyes.   
  
"Shut up already! It's not funny!" said Goten.   
  
"Then why are we laughing?" asked Trunks.   
  
"He's gotta point," Taylor defended Trunks.   
  
"What is this?! Pick on Goten day?!" he put on his best 'hurt' face. Taylor jumped off the counter and walked over to him.   
  
"Oh, we still love you!" she said sarcastically and pecked him on the cheek, causing his eyes to grow wide. She laughed and rustled his hair before walking into the living area and jumping on the couch. Trunks looked at Goten with disbelief.   
  
"What did I do?!" he whined.   
  
"Are you guys coming or what?!" they heard Taylor yell from the living area. Trunks shook his head and followed Goten into the room. Taylor turned on the television when they saw something that scared them half to death.   
  
"A soap opera!!!! Change it!! For the love of Kami change it!!!" Goten jumped up. Trunks started to panic as Taylor stood on the couch and looked at the remote with horror.   
  
"I can't!! It's stuck!!" she cried.   
  
"That's it!! I can't take it anymore!!" Trunks shot up out of his seat and shot a ki blast at it. Goten looked at him with worry.   
  
"What the hell was that?!" Taylor looked at Trunks.   
  
"Good going! You blew our cover!!" Goten yelled at him.   
  
"What cover?!" Taylor yelled.   
  
"Real smooth, Goten! Now she knows something!!" Trunks barked.   
  
"Hello!?! Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, scaring both the boys.   
  
"Yes, what the hell is going on?" They heard a voice behind them. They all turned around to see Vegita standing there, his arms crossed and that cocky smirk on his face. He glared at Taylor, and she returned it. "Time to train, she's seen what you can do, no point in keeping anything from her now because of your stupid actions," he turned around and headed outside.   
  
"Keep what from me?!" she asked, still confused as Trunks led her to the backyard. "What's going on?" she asked Goten as Trunks left them and stood a few feet away from his father.   
  
"Just watch," he whispered. Taylor switched her gaze from Goten to the two on the field who sunk into fighting stances. She watched in awe as they exchanged kicks and punches, they were mere blurs moving back and forth. Just then, one of the blurs appeared in front of them. Trunks motioned for Goten to go and spar. He nodded and approached Vegita. Taylor looked at Trunks with worry.   
  
"So what'd you think?" he asked her.   
  
"Um, I-I don't know…" she stuttered. "How were you moving so fast?" she asked.   
  
"Well, it's in our blood, sorta," he replied, receiving yet another confused look from her, "I'm saiyan."   
  
"You're saying what?" she lifted an eyebrow. Trunks shook his head.   
  
"No, I am saiyan," he said again.   
  
"Saying what?" she said slowly.   
  
"Say it right, brat." They looked up to see Vegita standing there with his arms crossed.   
  
Trunks sighed, "I'm saiya-jin," he said. He noticed that she had gotten a shocked look on her face. It was only there for a split second and then it changed to a confused expression, but it was still there.   
  
"What's that?" she asked.   
  
"We're a different race, with superior strength," he said, then went on and explained about them and everything they had gone through.   
  
"That's amazing," she said, "so what exactly ca—" she started but was stopped as she got a distant look in her eyes. She closed her eyes, and he could see them moving back and forth as if reading something.   
  
"Tay, are you okay?" he placed a hand on her shoulder, startling her. She gasped and looked at him.   
  
"No, I'm not," her eyes darted around, "I-I have to go…" she stood up abruptly. As she turned around, Trunks grabbed her arm from behind her.   
  
"Where are you going?" he asked her, worried that she might disillusion.   
  
"Trunks, let me go, I have to leave," she tugged her arm. He could feel her ki rising immensely; as if she was worried something was going to happen.   
  
"Taylor, what's going on?" Goten came up behind them.   
  
"Nothing!!" she yelled, "just leave me alone!" she jerked her arm one last time, pulling out of his grip, leaving them all shocked.   
  
"She shouldn't have been able to do that… there's something odd about this girl…" Vegita thought. Before she could run out, he punched out at her. She ducked and kicked at his head. He caught her foot and glared at her.   
  
"Let go," she said in a low dangerous tone, but he only tightened his grip.   
  
"Girl, you have a lot of explaining to do, my hand is stinging." He narrowed his eyes at her.   
  
"I don't have to explain anything to the likes of you, now let go," she returned the stare.   
  
"Dad," Trunks looked at him, silently telling him to leave her be. After slight hesitation, he let go of her leg and left. Trunks turned to Taylor, who only glared in the direction of the disappearing figure.   
  
"Taylor, what's going on?" he asked her, but received no reply. Goten noticed that her hands were balled into fists and her knuckles were white. He looked up at her, and reached over to put a hand on her shoulder, only to have her pull back in defense.   
  
"Taylor…" he started.   
  
"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you anything…" she looked away from them. Before they could do anything, she flinched and spun around with murderous eyes. There stood Vegita with Bulma at his side. She held a sort of device to administer a drug. Taylor took a few steps back, her vision blurring. She shook her head to try and shake it off, shutting her eyes. She snapped open her eyes and looked at them. "What did you do to me?" she said barely above a whisper. Trunks and Goten looked at Vegita who was smirking.   
  
"We injected her with a drug, it acts like alcohol, she'll tell us everything…" he said as if reading their minds. Trunks walked over and picked up Taylor in his arms, she gasped not expecting it to happen. They led them into an observation room. It was strangely familiar to Taylor, as if she had been there before, but she couldn't remember from where. Suddenly, she started laughing for no apparent reason. Trunks set her down on a chair and sat across from her. Goten, Vegita and Bulma all watched behind the two-way mirror.   
  
"How long is this thing going to last?" Goten asked, watching how Taylor was acting.   
  
"Depends, we gave her enough to knock out a saiya-jin in an hour," Bulma replied. Goten looked over at them.   
  
"It could kill her," said Vegita, "but if what we think is true, she'll tell us whatever she's keeping from us." Goten paled, then looked over at Taylor. Trunks was desperately trying to ask her questions, but she was just bouncing off the walls.   
  
"Look!" she called for his attention, "I can do a cartwheel… see?" she tried to do one, but was crooked and ended up in a heap on the floor, laughing. Suddenly, she jumped up and sat in the chair.   
  
"Taylor? Can you—"   
  
"Be a stork? Sure no prob.!!" She laughed, rocking back and falling out of her chair. "But I don't know where to get all those babies… maybe that big guy from Austin Powers ate them all," she stood up, stumbling side to side a bit, and called Trunks over. For her own safety, he walked over to her, as she held up her hands defensively.   
  
"What are you doing?" Trunks asked her.   
  
"Come on, I ain't afraid to take on nobody anytime!" She swung a fist at him, but it only resulted in her momentum spinning her around and nearly falling on the floor. She would have if Trunks hadn't caught her. She laughed as he led her back to her chair.   
  
"Now listen," she motioned with a finger for him to come closer as she whispered in his ear. "I know everything, about everything…" she said.   
  
Trunks looked at her with shock. "Taylor, what are you ta—" She stopped him by putting a hand on his mouth.   
  
"Shh," she put a finger to her lips, "my name isn't Taylor… it's Hotiku… and there are others like me, some superior, some inferior, but we are all destined to protect her no matter what…"   
  
Her? Trunks thought as she continued.   
  
"I am one of the top militia guardians, we are a superior species and very forceful," she smirked.   
  
"What are you saying?"   
  
"There is a great evil coming… here… he won't stop until he gets what he's coming for, so be ready," she removed her hand from his mouth, and leaned back into her chair, a smile playing on her lips.   
  
"Tayl—Hotiku…" he looked at her as she pointed to him.   
  
"I'm not telling you anything," she squinted at him.   
  
"You already told me everything," he raised an eyebrow at her. She crawled across the table and put her hands on his shoulders.   
  
"And now… I'm going to kiss you," she leaned in, just as they were inches away, she fell on his chest, asleep. Trunks sighed, and picked her up, taking her to the medical wing.   
  
~*~*~   
  
"Do you think she was telling the truth?" Goten asked Vegita as he stood there, glaring at her unconscious body.   
  
"Of course she was telling the truth, that drug acted as a truth serum along with the delusional components," he snapped. Goten turned his gaze back to Hotiku, wondering what was to come of her.   
  
Hotiku groaned as she lifted a hand to her head, wincing at the immense pain emitting from her head. She suddenly snapped her eyes open realizing what had happened. She sensed that there were people in the room and she flipped onto her feet, standing on the steel bed she was on. She snarled at them.   
  
"What did you do to me?" she asked, more like demanded.   
  
"We're asking the questions, Hotiku," Vegita crossed his arms.   
  
"Maintain your position," her commanding side took over as she sunk into a fighting stance. Trunks, as if challenging her, stepped forward. "Oh, I wouldn't have done that if I was you."   
  
"Why not?" he raised his chin, in pride as if in a higher authority than her.   
  
"Because," she smirked, "now I have to kick your ass," as she said this she grabbed the light fixture above and swung her legs forward, contacting with his chest, sending him a few feet back. Just as she landed, Goten and Vegita stepped forward only to have Hotiku jump up and extend both her legs to either side of her and kick them in their jaws. She quickly snapped her body around and ran towards the window.   
  
"She's gonna jump it!" Trunks shouted, rising to his feet.   
  
"We're on the top floor, she won't survive the fall even if she is a superior race, she can't fly," Vegita winced. Just as he said this, she shattered the window, jumping through it. They all ran out onto the balcony parallel to the window and looked down to see her landing safely. She looked up at them, a blank expression on her face before she ran off into the forest.   
  
"She's not the usual alien," Goten mumbled.   
  
~*~*~   
  
Hotiku had stopped running a while ago, she was leaning against a tree, soaking from head to toe. It was storming, lightning flashing and thunder roaring. She breathed heavily, trying to catch her breath and walked up to one of the biggest and most beautiful trees she had ever seen. It was completely covered with cherry blossoms. She sniffled and climbed the tree, still weakened from the drug, she nearly fell to the bottom, already several feet above the ground. When she had jumped from Capsule Corp. she nearly snapped her bones in her weakened state, she was lucky that time, but she wouldn't survive another fall. As she finally reached the top, she sat in the middle. It seemed to be a platform, but the branches orbed around it. She looked around as they were painted like crystals by the rain. Sighing, she lay down and began to think of what was going to happen to her now.   
  
~*~*~   
  
"What are we gonna do?" Trunks asked.   
  
"I don't know," Vegita said, extremely aggravated. Just then, Goten stood up and started walking towards the window.   
  
"Goten, where are you going?" Trunks stood up abruptly.   
  
"Brat, sit down, you are not going after that girl," Vegita growled.   
  
"Yes, I am," he threatened. Vegita stood up and walked over to him, grabbed his shoulder and sat him back down in his chair.   
  
"IF we go looking for her, we're going to think of a PLAN first," he growled. Goten rose to his feet and dared a look at him.   
  
"I don't give a damn what she's acting like or what she's doing!! She's been nothing but a friend to me and I've gotten a hell of a lot closer to her, she's like a sister to me and I'm going to take care of her no matter what," he spun around and was about to jump out the window.   
  
"But Goten," Trunks started to walk towards him.   
  
"No matter what," he said barely above a whisper and jumped out, taking off into flight and towards her erratically jumping ki.   
  
~*~*~   
  
Hotiku wiped her wet face and stood up. She subconsciously shivered at the cold that was creeping up on her. Her hair was matted to her face, and the light from the lightning was bouncing off her skin. Several close bolts rustled her hair and clothes, but didn't seem to bother her.   
  
"You shouldn't sit in a tree during a thunderstorm, you know," Goten said behind her. She turned her head slightly to the side, acknowledging his presence.   
  
"What are you doing here?" she said coldly.   
  
"I came to see if you were okay," he replied, not bothered by her tone. She slowly turned around and looked up at him.   
  
"No, you're just going to take me back, back to them and force me to answer all your questions. You've already done it, and you know everything that was supposed to be a secret," her voice soft and calm.   
  
"That was Vegita, Hotiku, I'm sorry," he said.   
  
"There's a reason people keep secrets, it's cause they don't want people to find out about their past, who they are or what they've done or are going to do. I thought you were different from all the other people I've known, Goten," said Hotiku, her eyes full of tears. Goten stood there, unmoving, not knowing how to respond.   
  
"Hotiku, I care about you, you've been nothing but a sister to me, I would never do anything to hurt you," he took a step towards her. She let out a relieved sigh before her legs gave way and she collapsed. Goten blurred behind her and caught her. "Are you okay?" he asked.   
  
"It's nothing, I'm just a little tired," she winced. He put her on his back and held on to her tightly. He took off into flight back towards Capsule Corp. She started to fall asleep as she rested her head on his shoulder, her arm slumping off it. He smiled at her weakly as she dozed off.   
  
"You'll be fine." 


	9. Chapter 9

Unknown Realms  
  
Chapter 9-Surprises   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
AN: Okay minna, sorry this took me a while to get out, but it's worth it, I promise, it's also 16 pages long! ^_^;; boy did I take my time on this, well gomen and here it is!   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The first ray of light peeked over the horizon and through the clear window, shining across the eyes of the raven-haired girl. Her eyes flinched as they fluttered open and she rolled on her side, holding her head. She let out a disheveled sigh as she looked at the figure that was straddling a chair in front of her.  
  
"What time is it?" she asked.  
  
"I dunno, you tell me," his rich voice loomed.  
  
"0800," she automatically replied, then groaned after realizing he had tricked her. She sat up slowly and crossed her legs, setting her hands in her lap. "Okay, you got me, ya happy now?" she raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Not especially, what am I supposed to call you now?" he asked.  
  
"Trunks, you can call me whatever you want, it doesn't matter anymore now does it?" she swung her legs over the side of the bed, swinging them back and forth.  
  
"Yes it does matter, I just found out you're some enhanced being with some kind of disorder that causes you to go unconscious, so the least you can do is let me know what I'm to address you by!" he crossed his arms.  
  
"Fine!" she threw up her hands, "call me Hotiku if it bothers you that much!" She hopped off the bed and placed a hand on her hip. She was still wearing the same clothes as the day before and they were terribly wrinkled. Her hair was wind blown and tangled.  
  
"Thank you," he said haughtily.  
  
"So what now?" she asked.  
  
"We train for this guy who's supposedly on his way to destroy the Earth," they heard a deep voice behind them. They turned around to see Vegita standing in the doorway.  
  
"All hail the almighty midget from the land of the apes!" Hotiku mocked and sarcastically bowed. Vegita let out a low growl from deep within his throat.  
  
"I'd keep those smart remarks to myself if I were you," he threatened.  
  
"But you're not me, besides it's so much fun!" she clamped her hands together. Vegita opened his mouth to reply at the same time lifting his fist, when Trunks interrupted him.  
  
"We'll meet you in the gravity chamber, Dad," he said and grabbed Hotiku's arm.  
  
"Ow! Watch the birthday suit!" she winced at his grip. Vegita muttered something under his breath before walking out of the room leaving the two alone.  
  
"You shouldn't take him so lightly," Trunks warned.  
  
"Stop that, you sound like him," she said matching his tone, and walked towards the door.  
  
"Come on, let's get this show on the road!" she hopped out of the room and walked down the corridor, following Vegita.  
  
"Oy vey, this is going to be… interesting," Trunks quickly followed them both to the gravity chamber. As they arrived, Hotiku looked around in awe, it was somehow familiar to her, the red lights and the small indicator with digits on it.  
  
"Ooo, what does this button do?" she reached for a large blue button.  
  
"No, not that one!!" Trunks tried to reach her before she pressed it. Too late. Suddenly, they were all lifted off the ground and were floating in the air. She had released all the gravity from the room.  
  
"Hey! Look, I can fly, whee!!" she 'flew' around, but quickly regretted it as she was sent crashing to the ground face first. "Ow." she muttered. She pulled herself up, rubbing her face, looking towards the panel to see a not-so-happy Vegita just finish punching in some codes. "That wasn't very nice," she crossed her arms after standing up.  
  
"And neither is this," he shot a ki blast towards her before she had time to think. She twisted her body to the side and held up her arm defensively, blocking the blast. After it had hit her arm, she lowered it and held it in pain.  
  
"It burns!" she gripped her arm roughly.  
  
"Dad!" Trunks complained, looking at Hotiku with concern, but before either could do anything; Vegita landed a punch to the side of her face, sending her crashing into the wall. She slid up against the steel wall that now had a dent in it.  
  
"Bastard," she spit, before charging at him and jumping into the air, preparing to kick him. At the last second she punched down on him and kicked off his chest using him as a springboard. She flipped backward in the air and held her fists up defensively. Vegita pushed himself up from the ground and wiped the dirt from his face.  
  
"Not bad, but let's see how you stand against the C-30's." He grabbed her arm and dragged her into the adjacent room next to the one they were in.  
  
"Hey!" she cried out as he threw her to the ground. As she rubbed her head she said, "Man, I'm going to have a major headache after this." Suddenly, the lights went out and the darkness was automatically replaced with a blue light that filled the room. She pulled herself to her feet and took a defensive stance, and sharpened her senses. A slight whirring was heard as three small robots, not even two feet tall hovered out of compartments in the walls. Two larger robots that had the structure of a human also came out of their compartments.  
  
"Oh, this is gonna be just great…" she muttered as her eyes darted around, following their every movements. They had managed to circle around her in sort of a ring-like fashion. Suddenly, one of the larger robots had grabbed her from behind. She tripped it just before flipping the robot over her body and into a smaller cyborg. The other larger robot slid towards her, its foot held out to knock her off her feet. Hotiku jumped up and turned her jump into a series of back flips. Halfway through a flip, she grabbed one of the smaller robots before planting her feet firmly on the ground and slammed the robot into the ground with all her momentum. She pulled her fist back slowly, a high-pitched whirring emitting from it. One of the larger robots had crept up behind her, just before she threw her punch at the smaller one, she jerked it back, hitting the larger one in its head, then gouging her fist into the smaller one. A small blue ring of electricity emerged from her wrist, as if a bracelet of energy, and traveled over her fist into the robot. She quickly pulled her fist out and spun around on her heel, facing the larger robot that had just recovered from her powerful blow.  
  
She smirked evilly, "catch," she threw the smaller robot towards it, and took off running towards the other robots as soon as it left her hands. She jumped up in a motion to kick the larger robot. Just inches away from it, the other two robots exploded from the electricity she had 'injected' into it. The blast sent her into the other robot with much greater force. As her foot connected with its face, they were both sent towards the wall. Unfortunately, a split second before the hit the steel wall, the robot grabbed her ankle and pulled it down, her upper body now in arms reach of it. The robot grabbed the back of her head and slammed her into the wall face first. As a trickle of blood ran down her chin from her mouth and another from her forehead, she performed a back-roundhouse kick, but the robot grabbed her leg and swung her into the large pillar in the middle of the room that was the control panel. As her back hit the pillar, she was lucky the controls were offline otherwise she would have been electrocuted severely. Her body fell to the ground and she rolled on impact, instinctively. As she caught herself on her knees, she only had enough time to look up as the two smaller robots appeared beside her and had held her in place with invisible strings of energy, occasionally little bolts of electricity burst out. At the same time that they had grabbed her, the larger robot sent a rather large ki blast towards her. Her eyes widened as it hit her with an immense upsurge of power. A great wave of pain racked her body as she was sent skidding across the floor on her back. Just before she hit the wall, she managed to firmly place her hands on the ground to stop her sliding. She forced herself to stand on her feet, only to have the larger robot punch out at her from the left side. She blocked it with her arm, and punched it with her right fist. She grabbed its arm and swung it into the two smaller robots. She quickly jumped up and somersaulted in the air, landing both her feet on one of the smaller robots, crushing it. She brought her leg up and performed an axe kick on the other smaller one, then kicked it like a soccer ball into the other smaller robot, which was now a pile of scrap. They both burst into flames, but she was only able to enjoy the 'fireworks' for a split second before she was swept off her feet and to the ground. She looked up to see the larger robot hovering above her. It kicked her in her side sharply earning a shrill cry at the top of her lungs; it had cracked her ribs. Just as it prepared to kick her again, she grabbed it and swung it around, slamming it into the ground on the other side of her. She quickly flipped onto her stomach, wincing at the immense pain from her ribs; she crawled away from the robot, only to be pulled back by her foot. She planted her hands on the ground, trying to keep from being pulled into its grasp. She turned around and looked up at the robot, her eyes widened in fear as it held up a massive ball of energy. She closed her eyes and held up her hands defensively as it threw the blast down on her. Just millimeters before it hit her, she snapped her eyes open and she let out a primal scream as pure energy materialized out of her hands and slammed into the robot, over-powering its blast. Her eyes were glazed over with a dangerous glint. The robot was crushed against the wall, but stood up and charged at her. Hotiku rose to her feet and walked towards the robot with an eerie, almost evil, calmness. She suddenly rushed at it and performed a roundhouse kick, knocking it down. She straddled it and proceeded to throw a series of punches to its head. She pulled her fist back and sent it right to the side of its jaw, snapping its neck. Even though it had been destroyed, she continued her onslaught. She started ripping the robot apart with her bare hands. Suddenly, her eyes became clear and she froze for a split second before realizing what she was doing. Her eyes grew in shock, then she kicked the robot away as she fell back on her hands and crawled away from it backwards. She looked around at the damage that she had done, clenching her teeth in disapproval of herself. Her body had stopped when she had bumped into something behind her. She looked up behind her to see Vegita standing with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.  
  
"What do you want?" she asked, narrowing her eyes, tears threatening to pour down.  
  
"What's wrong?" he asked mockingly, "can't handle the fact that you're a deadly killing machine and you let your instincts take over? If you can't handle it then don't even think you're a fighter." He said cruelly. She looked away, closing her eyes, then, against all the protest from her body, she stood up and looked Vegita dead in the eye.  
  
"Don't ever say a militia guardian is not a fighter, or you'll live to regret it," She walked away, brushing past him receiving a growl from the prince. She smirked and walked into the other room in which Trunks was training in. "Let's take a break shall we?" she nodded towards the exit door.  
  
"Did Dad say we could?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, doubting that his father would just let them take a break.  
  
"Don't be a mama's boy, Trunks. You don't always have to listen to your parents, this is the time to rebel," she said revoltingly.  
  
Trunks smirked and followed her out the doors, "What about your ribs?"  
  
Not responding, she wrapped an arm around her ribs and rubbed them, wincing. In a few seconds she looked up at him, smiling. "They're fine," she winked. Trunks raised an eyebrow in confusion, before they both stopped and lay on the grass.  
  
"So, tell me, Hotiku, about you, the real you," he persisted. Hotiku closed her eyes slowly, sighing. After a moment of hesitation she spoke up.  
  
"I'm fifteen years old, and have always had this disillusion for as long as I can remember… then again all I do remember is blacking out. I never remember anything that happened a few hours before that and I can't control it. She's been working on a way to record my memories of what's happened before and while I'm disillusioning," Trunks interrupted her.  
  
"She? Who's she?" he asked.  
  
"Miyako… my friend, though, I haven't seen her in the longest time. I hope she's okay." She stopped reminiscing on some memories. "When I was three, I was captured by some enemy along with three other kids; Zack, Miyako and Saige. Some crazy scientist experimented on us, enhancing our speed, strength, stealth and stamina as well as our senses."  
  
"What do you mean?" Trunks asked. Hotiku pointed to her eyes, signaling for him to watch. She looked to the other side of the yard, which was enormous, to a small bush. She sharpened her vision and was able to see the berries on the bush perfectly. As Trunks watched her eyes, her irises became thinner as her pupils became larger. He could see some dull yellow lines on her pupils, as if it was analyzing what she was looking at.  
  
"Cool," he wondered out loud. As her eyes returned to normal, she smiled slightly.  
  
"It can be," she smirked, "the four of us became the 'perfect soldiers', but since we never followed the orders of the Riena officials, they named us the Perfect Four. There was some prophecy about us, something about ten years after we find each other we'll become the soul guardians of the universe reining in omnipotent power, whether it be evil or good, but I never really believed in that kinda stuff," she said as if it was an everyday thing.  
  
"Omnipotent power?" he questioned her.  
  
"I dunno, the prophet was probably a crazy loon," she snickered. She flipped over on her stomach and started picking at the grass subconsciously. "And I don't know who that person is who's supposed to come, I just got a message through one of my neural chips saying someone was coming to Earth looking for our 'protect-ee'... It's scary sometimes."  
  
"What is?"  
  
"Not knowing what's going to happen next, they're looking for us, Trunks, they want to take us back to Riena and probe us or something. I'm always on the run; I've been running my entire life from them, that's how we got split up. Well, not exactly. After they enhanced us, they shipped us off to different planets. Sometimes we meet up, but that's rare, and I haven't seen anyone in about ten years."  
  
"You were five years old, and you still remember them?"  
  
"Yeah, it's strange and sometimes I feel like I know what they're doing right now, like I'm with them or something. A few hours after I saw someone I met up with Uubu and we really hit it off. He used to sneak out at night just to bring me some food and see if I was alright," she smiled, "then he left… and I was by myself for a year, until Tousan found me and took me in. But I had to leave him when I was ten years old; I went back to my home pl-" she stopped abruptly.  
  
"What? What is it?" Trunks looked at Hotiku, she had a thoughtful look on her face.  
  
"Trunks, there's something I have to tell you… I'm not normal," she said.  
  
"Well, of course you aren't, you were enhanced and-"  
  
"That's not what I mean… I'm not-from this planet," she looked down at her hands. "I'm a completely different species. I'm not sure if I should tell you, you might freak out and not believe me… or you might take me in and examine me or run tests on me, you could shun me and not want anything to do with me or-"  
  
"Hotiku," he put his hand on her shoulder, "just tell me."  
  
"I'm Toria-jin." She said finally. Shock was written all over his face, he couldn't believe that Hotiku was a Toria-jin. There were rumors that Frieza didn't even want anything to do with them because they were so powerful. Not only could they match Saiya-jins in strength, but also people said that they had secret abilities that defied the laws of physics. They were enemies of Saiya-jins, and yet the king and queen of Toria were Saiya-jins as well, but they were shunned by their race and banished from Vegita-sei. As Trunks remembered from his studies, the queen was half saiya-jin and the king was a pure breed saiya-jin. Seeing the only thing he could do at the time, he reached over and put his hand on her cheek.  
  
"Hotiku, I don't care," he said, her eyes slowly lifting up to meet his. Their eyes locked, and they slowly began to lean in towards each other. Their noses just centimeters away, a ki blast exploded right between them, sending them flying in either direction.  
  
"Holy shit, I nearly had a heart attack!" she looked up and saw that the one who had fired the blast was non-other than Vegita. "Speak o' the devil," she muttered. Vegita had his arms crossed, as usual, levitating in the air.  
  
She's got a lot of power, and potential, he thought. He looked down at her as she snarled at him. Suddenly, she let out a slight "humph" and stood up, dusting herself off. "How'd you manage to survive all those robots in there?" he asked her.  
  
"It's called the element of surprise," she said proudly.  
  
"You sure surprised me," Trunks smirked, " I didn't know you could use ki blasts."  
  
"Ki blasts? All I did was an release an EMP," she said.  
  
"You mean that ringlet of blue energy was an EMP?" Trunks asked her.  
  
"Well, a controlled EMP, otherwise every electronic within miles would have exploded. I just secured it inside of that one robot. That other light thingy I did, I have no clue what that was," she shifted her weight and placed a hand on her hip.  
  
"That was a ki blast," Vegita said arrogantly. Hotiku shrugged it off as if it didn't mean anything.  
  
"So I did a little light show, big deal."  
  
"Big deal? Do you think this is a big deal?" Vegita promptly fired a large ki blast towards her. Hotiku gasped in shock, before sweeping her arms up in a cross defensively. After the blast had dissipated, she lowered her burned arms.  
  
"That hurts…" she narrowed her eyes at him.  
  
"Now you try, brat," Vegita crossed his arms. As much as Hotiku tried, she couldn't repeat the little show she had done before.  
  
"I can't do it," she crossed her arms.  
  
"Then learn," Vegita spat.  
  
"No thanks, I'm not in school," she waved a hand at him.  
  
"Really? Well, then you're going to get punished," he smirked, "drop and give me two-hundred pushups."  
  
Hotiku snorted, "like hell." Trunks slapped his forehead.  
  
"You two just don't stop do you?"  
  
"No," she answered simply, and stuck her tongue out at him.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Sir, permission to speak freely, Sir!" A brunette stood at attention, saluting an official.  
  
"Permission granted," the Commander replied.  
  
"Sir, I am needed on Earth, if Saige is really…" she paused for a moment, "I will have to assemble with the others to prepare for his arrival."  
  
"We've already prepared a ship for you and your associate." He informed her.  
  
"Sir? Associate?" she inquired. He motioned towards a corner in a room that was flooded in shadows. A figure stepped out of the shadows revealing his identity. The girl's eyes lit up as she fought the urge to run up to him and hug him.  
  
"Go on," the commander said, as if reading her mind. Without a moment's hesitation, she jumped on the figure.  
  
"I've missed you so much, Zack!" she threw her arms around his neck.  
  
"I know, Miyako," he smirked. She playfully punched his arm, causing him to wince. "You've gotten stronger I see."  
  
"Gomen," she chuckled. Suddenly, someone cleared their throat from behind them. They both automatically turned around and held a salute, standing at an attention.  
  
"Sir, sorry, sir!" They both said simultaneously.  
  
"You two had better get a move on if you wanna get there in time…" he said, "dismissed." The second he said that word, they both blurred out of sight and into the spaceships.  
  
"Let's have a little fun with this 'trip' shall we?" Miyako said mischievously.  
  
"Of course," Zack smirked.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Bulma yawned as she stood up and stretched. "Well, kids, we're going to bed. Vegita, Bra, let's go."  
  
"But Mama, I don't wanna go!" Bra protested as her mother picked her up. Hotiku chuckled as Bra's cries of disapproval could be heard as she was taken away like a lunatic to an asylum. As Trunks stood up, he stretched out his sore limbs and walked into the kitchen. Hotiku got up and followed him. She hopped up and sat on the counter.  
  
"Didn't you ever hear the phrase 'tables and counters are for glasses and not for a-" he started.  
  
"Oh, who ever listens to those dumb things anyway?" she waved a hand at him.  
  
"I do," they heard a voice behind them, causing Hotiku to jump. She promptly turned around to find Goten leaning against the backdoor with his arms crossed.  
  
"Goten! What are you doing here?" Hotiku jumped off the counter and hugged him.  
  
"I came to get you, Gohan's getting worried."  
  
"He's always worried," she put her hands on her hips. "Trunks, I'll see you later," she walked over to him and gave him a friendly hug.  
  
"See ya guys tomorrow," he replied.  
  
"Tomorrow?" Goten inquired.  
  
"Yeah, we have to train with the prince of all pains in the ass," she snickered.  
  
"Hey, Hotiku?" Trunks got her attention.  
  
"Nani?" she turned her head to the side, looking at him.  
  
"How did you know that my tousan was the prince of Saiya-jins?" he asked, earning a smirk from her.  
  
"I told you… I know everything about everything."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Boo," Zack said slightly behind a tall, blue-haired girl. She jumped slightly before rapidly turning around to see who her 'attacker' was. The second she saw him she squealed in delight.  
  
"What are you doing here?!" she said excitedly.  
  
"Didn't you get the message?" he asked.  
  
"What message?" she asked questionably. Zack looked back at Miyako, then back to the girl. He nodded to Miyako, signaling her to approach her.  
  
"Celeste, close your eyes," she ordered. Celeste did as she was told as Miyako put her fingers on the side of her face in an organized pattern. Suddenly, Celeste started moving her eyes back and forth, reading the message. She opened her eyes worriedly.  
  
"We should hurry, how much time do we have?" she asked Zack.  
  
"One, maybe two months?" he estimated. Receiving nods from both girls.  
  
"Let's go," Miyako ordered and turned around to the ship.  
  
"What's our next stop?" Celeste asked.  
  
"Actually, we're going to have to sweep through the Alpha to locate Taga, while avoiding Saige at the same time," Zack replied, causing Miyako to slap her forehead.  
  
"Sounds just like him, go figure."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Eee! Eee! Eee! Hotiku's alarm went off, blaring as loud as possible. She moaned as she rolled over and lazily let her arm fall on the off button. She turned over and pulled the sheets up more. Before she had time to react, Goten burst through her door.  
  
"Wake up, even I'm awake, time to go train," he said. Hotiku scoffed and pulled the sheets over her head and faced the window, which had a shade pulled down to block the sunlight from entering and disturbing her sleep. Goten sighed and walked over to the window, abruptly letting the shade up. The light hit her directly in her eyes.  
  
"Ahh!" she jumped up and smothered her face in her hands, furiously rubbing her eyes. "What are you trying to do, blind me?!" Goten rolled his eyes and pulled the sheets off her and threw a duffel bag at her, landing on her lap.  
  
"Kami-sama, I've never experienced so much sunlight in my life!!" she cried, "What's this for??" She looked down at the duffel bag, then up at him quizzically.  
  
"It's your training gear," he replied, "now let's get a move on, we're supposed to already be there!" Hotiku groaned and let herself fall back down on the bed.  
  
"Go away, I'm going back to sleep," she mumbled causing Goten to growl. She let out a startled cry as he picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. Before she could blink, or let alone react, he had flown out the door muttering a good-bye to Gohan and Videl.  
  
"They didn't even eat breakfast..." Videl mumbled.  
  
"Oh well, more for me!" Gohan cheerily reached for another muffin before getting a slap on the hand by Videl.  
  
"They'll have breakfast when they get back!" she snapped, receiving a whimper from Gohan. She smirked, "that's better."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Sorry we're late," Goten landed and dropped Hotiku on the grass in a heap, "but someone wouldn't get out of bed!" He snapped at her.  
  
She reached her arms up and dug her hands in her hair, "Mmm," she stretched slightly then dropped her hands immediately. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Nag, nag, nag, all you do is nag." She motioned with her hand that all he did was talk.  
  
Trunks looked at them suspiciously. "He got up before you did?" He asked Hotiku.  
  
"Yeah, and the baka nearly blinded me," she growled up at Goten.  
  
"Well, at least I'm still not in my sleepwear!!" he snapped back. She blinked then looked down at herself.  
  
"I'm not going to train in this!!" she jumped up, looking at Goten angrily.  
  
"That's why you're going to wear this," a bundle of clothes was thrown at her, before she could react. She looked at them, then back at the person who had thrown them.  
  
"Knowing you, you'd probably make me dress up like a whore," she glared at him.  
  
"Go change, brat," he spat. Hotiku brushed past him and walked towards Capsule Corp. slowly. "Hurry up!" he yelled.  
  
"So sorry I'm not as fast as the great gremlin from Oz," she narrowed her eyes at him, but didn't have time to enjoy it as he charged up a ki blast. Within a split second, she was inside of the building and changing. Trunks had to keep his laughter under control unless he wanted extra training. Hotiku came jogging back out adjusting the gloves on her hands. She was wearing a loose white wife-beater, a black sports bra, black exercise pants and combat boots. She had tied her hair up and found some biker gloves inside her duffel bag, which was now slung over her shoulder.  
  
"Good, now let's see what you can do," Vegita crossed his arms.  
  
"Excuse me?" she raised an eyebrow, glancing at Trunks and Goten.  
  
"Goten!" Vegita barked.  
  
"H-hai!"  
  
"Go, spar with her," he said.  
  
"But, I might hurt her," he replied.  
  
"What?!" she snapped her head towards him, "I'm going to freakin' kill you!" She charged at him and tackled him to the ground. Trunks and Vegita flew a safe distance away. Goten kicked her off him and sunk into a fighting stance. Hotiku turned her roll into a flip as she landed on her feet and dropped down into a stance as well. Suddenly, they both rushed at each other at the same time, their forearms contacting, both trying to gain dominance over the other. Goten of course was holding back, giving Hotiku an advantage as she punched him in his face with her left hook. Goten was sent to the ground, while Hotiku held her fist in pain, wincing.  
  
"Damnit! What the hell is your skull made of?!" she shook her hand furiously.  
  
"Why the hell did you hit me so hard!! That hurt!" He growled, holding the side of his face. "That hurt?" he looked up quizzically at Trunks and Vegita as they flew towards them.  
  
She shouldn't have been able to hit him that hard even if she is an enhanced being. Vegita thought, then looked over at Trunks. He doesn't look shocked... there's something he's not telling me.  
  
Trunks walked over and grabbed Hotiku's hand while helping Goten up with his free hand. Hotiku winced under his touch, "that hurts." She shook off the pain as much as she could.  
  
Goten poked her side, "so does my side."  
  
"Ow!" she cried the second he had poked her, "my ribs are still cracked, baka!"  
  
"From what?" he asked.  
  
"Sparring yesterday," she winced.  
  
"I thought you said they were fine?" Trunks raised an eyebrow.  
  
"I lied!" she let her arms drop to her sides after lifting them in exclamation, but quickly regretted it as they not-so-gently hit her ribs. "Ow," she muttered.  
  
"Here," Vegita tossed a senzu at her.  
  
"What's this," she looked at it questionably, "poison?"  
  
"It's a senzu, it'll heal you," he explained arrogantly.  
  
"You're trying to tell me that this little bean is going to make all my boo-boo's go bye-bye?" she raised an eyebrow. Receiving no reply, she sighed and popped it in her mouth. "Dude it works!!" she looked down at her hands.  
  
"Of course it does, baka," Vegita spat, "stupid girl."  
  
"Bite me, monkey boy." She glared at him.  
  
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip you to pathetic shreds right now?" He growled.  
  
"Because you love me!" she fluttered her eyelashes, only provoking him even more. He started advancing on her; she jumped slightly and started walking backwards.  
  
"V-V-Vegita??" she bumped into Trunks, glanced at him, then jumped behind him and hid there, trying to stay on opposite side of Vegita. "You need me!! You don't know who this guy is or how to beat him!!!" she defended herself, but that didn't stop him. He grabbed the back of her shirt and dragged her into the gravity chamber. Trunks and Goten tried to follow, but the door slid shut before they could get in.  
  
"Oh great…" she muttered before sinking into a fighting stance.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"They've been in there a long time now…" Goten said worriedly. As if answering him, the door opened and Vegita stepped out, battered and bruised.  
  
"You two better hope you were sparring while we were in there," he glared and walked away. They took their eyes off him and turned to the door. They were just about to get up and go see if Hotiku was all right, when she appeared in the doorway, leaning against the frame. Cuts and bruises were almost completely covering her body, including all the blood. She had taken her shirt off a while ago and her pants were ripped in various places. Despite everything, she flashed them a smile before falling out of the chamber, exhausted. Goten blurred over and caught her before she hit the ground.  
  
"I'm fine, just gimme another one of those lil' beanie things…" she held her head wincing. Trunks obeyed and slid it between her lips, as she chewed it slowly. She let out a relieved sigh as Goten put her down.  
  
"He really beat you up, didn't he?" Goten snickered. She slowly moved her gaze over to him.  
  
"Well, I woulda been better off if you two had shown me some moves! And eventually you will," she glared at them both. Suddenly, as if a light bulb turned off, she instantly got an idea. "Goten!!" She jumped up and hugged his arm. "Teach me the kamehameha! Please?" she begged him.  
  
"Oh no, if I teach you that you're gonna want to know everyone of my signature attacks!!" He cried, trying to pry her off his arm.  
  
"No I won't! Come on Goten!! Teach it to me!" she whined loudly before saying confidently, "you know you want to."  
  
"No, no, and NO!" He managed to get free of her grasp. She jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck, hanging from him.  
  
"Pleeeease?! Come on Goten! Don't be so stubborn!" she scolded.  
  
"I said no!" he stood his ground.  
  
"If you teach it to me, I... I'll clean for a week!"  
  
"No!"   
  
"I'll be your servant for a week!"  
  
"NO!"  
  
"I'll cook for a week!!" she said desperately.  
  
"N-- Okay, this is what you do first!" he quickly gave in.  
  
"Yatta!!!" she let go of him as he positioned her body correctly. After about an hour, Goten was on the floor with his hands dug roughly in his hair.  
  
"For the last time, you shoot in front of you," he stood up, walked over to her and grasped her hands, placing them behind her.  
  
"Hey Trunks!" Hotiku shouted.  
  
"What?" he asked annoyed. She smirked and motioned for him to stand in place. He let out a disheveled sigh, she had been using him as her target and so far he had been fried, burned, electrocuted and sent crashing into a tree. They were both about ready to give up on her. The only thing keeping Trunks from going on a rampage were Hotiku's antics.  
  
"And you release here," Goten finished, "are you paying attention?"  
  
"Yes, mother," she rolled her eyes causing Trunks to chuckle. "Goten I look stupid," she whined.  
  
"Hey did you want to learn this or what?" he glared at her.  
  
"Fine, fine, fine. Give the order Colonel Cranky pants," she snickered.  
  
"Just do it," he sighed. Hotiku rolled her eyes and, without even aiming, pulled back her hands and performed the kamehameha.  
  
"There you happy?" she raised an eyebrow, placing her hands on her hips. She glanced over at Trunks, blinked once, then burst out laughing. The only part of him that wasn't covered in ashes were his eyes. He blinked twice before doing a double take. He dusted himself off and walked over to them.  
  
"You did it," Goten said exhausted.  
  
"I did? Whoo hoo!!"  
  
"Now can we go inside?" Trunks asked.  
  
"Ok-... no." she changed her mind.  
  
"No?" Goten looked at her like she was crazy. She looked over at Trunks deviously.  
  
"Oooh no! No no... NO!!" he shook his head and backed away from her, waving his hands at her.  
  
"Come on! You know you want to!" She chased him as he started to run away from her.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"So what did you kids do today?" Bulma asked as she served them dinner.  
  
"I got Goten to teach me the kamehameha!" Hotiku said excitedly. Bulma looked at her in disbelief.  
  
"How'd you do that?" she blinked at her.  
  
"I told him I'd cook for a week," she grinned.  
  
"That would explain it," she nodded, "what else happened?"  
  
"I got Trunks to teach me the Final Flash and his Burning Attack too!" she smiled at Bulma.  
  
Bulma looked at her son, "uh, Trunks?"  
  
"She made me," he buried his head in his arms. Bulma giggled, this only proved her theory that women had some kind of manipulative power over men. Of course, there were some instances that flipped the theory around. After dinner, Goten, Hotiku and Trunks went upstairs to Trunks' room.  
  
"See? I told you guys you were gonna eventually teach those moves to me," she smiled, while the two boys groaned.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A small space pod was pulled into the docking bay of a much larger one.  
  
"Whoever these people are, they don't know who they're dealing with," the brown-haired boy muttered, stepping out of his ship.  
  
"Oh really?" An effeminate voice said behind him. He spun around, a mixture of emotions running across his face, "Welcome, Taga," she smiled.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Okay, I dare you to..." Goten started, "go into Vegita's room and... steal a pair of his boxers!" Trunks and Hotiku sat shocked and dumbfounded.  
  
"His boxers?!" Hotiku squeaked.  
  
"Yup," Goten said proudly.  
  
"Fine, not a problem!" She stood up and walked out the door. Goten and Trunks paled.  
  
"She's actually going to do it?" Goten face faulted. Trunks quickly rushed over to her and grabbed her arm. She looked back at him quizzically.  
  
"You'll need this," Trunks dug into the drawer next to the door and pulled out a small device, pinning it on her temple. "It'll completely hid your ki."  
  
"Thanks, now let go, I've got a dare to pull off!" she winked at him before disappearing down the hallway. A few minutes later, the boys heard a slam and looked towards the door to see Hotiku as white as a sheet, trying to catch her breathe. As soon as the color returned to her face, she growled at Goten and threw the pair of boxers at his face.  
  
"Ah! Hey!" he recoiled away from the boxers in fear and disgust.  
  
"You idiot! Thanks a lot, now I'm scarred for life!" she yelled.  
  
"Why?" Trunks asked.  
  
"Vegita and Bulma weren't sleeping, so to speak," she glared. They both paled, knowing exactly what had happened. "My turn, Trunks truth or dare?"  
  
"Uhh," Trunks didn't want to do something equally as embarrassing as what she had to do, "truth."  
  
Hotiku snickered, "boxers or briefs?"  
  
"Nani?! That's a personal question!!" he roared.  
  
"Hey, this is truth or dare, and you chose truth. Now you have to suffer the consequences," she smirked.  
  
"...boxers," he finally said, causing Goten and Hotiku to burst out laughing.  
  
"Hey, at least he didn't say briefs! That coulda lasted us a week!" Hotiku rolled in laughter. Meanwhile, Trunks face was completely red, not only from humiliation, but also from rage.  
  
"Shut up!" he yelled. "It's not funny!"  
  
"So why are we laughing?" Goten mocked him as he had done to him a few days ago.  
  
"He's gotta point," she defended him.  
  
"Whatever," he yawned, not really caring anymore.  
  
"Mind if we crash here tonight?" Hotiku asked.  
  
"Nah, go ahead."  
  
"Arigatou!" she said cheerily, as he lead her to a spare room across the hall.  
  
"Goten, you can stay in my room," Trunks replied, as they walked back.  
  
"Alright, I'll see you to in the morning!" she waved to them excitedly. Goten rolled his eyes thinking she would never fall asleep. The second the door closed, she collapsed on the bed, asleep. 


	10. Chapter 10

Unknown Realms   
  
Chapter 10- The Start of a Prophecy   
  
It had been about four weeks since the Z-gang had started training for this new enemy. The Sons sat around the table for breakfast, devouring every last speck of food in sight. Hotiku munched on a slice of toast eating regularly, unlike the Saiya-jins around her. She was visiting her old home, but only for her mother and sister. A couple of weeks back she and Gohan had gotten in an argument and he said that as long as she lived under his roof, she would abide by his rules; so she moved out and into Capsule Corp. where they welcomed her, even Vegita. Meanwhile, Hotiku and Gohan were desperately trying to not end up in another dispute.  
  
"Gohan, will you please pass me the paper?" she asked, over sweetly.   
  
"Here you go, Taylor," he handed it to her. Hotiku smiled, even after everything that had happened, he still called her Taylor. She sloppily searched through the newspaper.   
  
"Aha! Found it," she cried triumphantly, tearing a page out and rolling it up, sticking it in her back pocket.   
  
"Nani? Found what?" Goten asked through a mouth full of food.   
  
"I'll be back," she started reaching for a set of keys, but then remembered that it was the sole reason for started the fight with Gohan. He didn't want her riding the motorcycle for several reasons. One, she was under age. Two, she refused to wear a helmet; and three, he thought she didn't even know how to ride it. So she reached for her roller blades instead. Goten shrugged and finished up his breakfast, leaning back on his chair and patting his stomach contently.   
  
~*~   
  
Hotiku was weaving through the people on the street. She stopped in front of a theatre and skated in. She looked around; a lot of girls and guys were scattered around, stretching their limbs. She quickly sneaked into the bathroom, after signing up, to change her clothes.   
  
Okay, you haven't done this in a while, but that's okay! Relax, you can do this… but all those people out there look so professional and experienced, she thought, walking out of the bathroom, why did I even come here, I can't—   
  
"Number 13, you're up," an attendant interrupted her thoughts. Hotiku tensed up and followed the woman. She shook her head to clear her nervousness and plastered a smile on her face. She walked to the center of the stage and waited for her instructions.   
  
~*~   
  
Letting out a huge sigh of relief, Hotiku left the studio and made her way home. She walked into the foyer of Capsule Corp. nearly crashing into Trunks in her attempt to run upstairs.   
  
"Hey, Hotti! Where ya been all day?" He asked, but before she could answer him, he noticed something… different about her. "Uh, Hotiku?" he looked at her questionably.   
  
"Nani? What is it?" she returned the look.   
  
"Why are you wearing that… thing?" he looked at her outfit, a black body suit and white nylon stockings. Suddenly, she realized that in her rush to leave the dance studio, she neglected to change into her regular clothes. She searched her mind for an excuse; all the while heat was quickly rushing to her cheeks.   
  
"It's a costume, for the school play," she said matter-o-factly, "I was just trying it on."   
  
"Outside?" he asked.   
  
"Yeah, it's an outdoor play, ya know," she covered up.   
  
"Okay, but you're not going to train in that thing are you?"   
  
"No, I was just going to go change," she forced her laughter.   
  
"Okay then, I'll meet you here in ten minutes," he walked away shaking his head in confusion.   
  
"Oh, thank gawd it wasn't his mom," she let out an exasperated sigh.   
  
"Nani?" Trunks turned around.   
  
"I said… 'Thank gawd there wasn't a bomb?'" she smiled.   
  
"You're crazy you know that?" Trunks teased.   
  
"I know," she chuckled. Not a second after he left, she ran upstairs to change.   
  
~*~   
  
"Hotti, come on!" Trunks yelled from the bottom of the stairs.   
  
"I just had a thought," she said from behind him, startling him and causing him to jump ten feet in the air.   
  
"You know, I regret Goku-san ever teaching you that teleportation move," he huffed.   
  
"You're just jealous," she stuck her tongue out at him, "now listen, let's ditch Vegita and go to the beach!"   
  
"You really are crazy! Dad would kill us! Besides, w-we have to train," he walked past her.   
  
"Ugh, have I taught you nothing about rebelling?!" she followed him. "Come on, you know you want to," she persisted.   
  
"Alright, alright, alright!" he gave in.   
  
"Yes! This is going to be so great! We can go swimming, oh Goten's coming too, and have a volleyball tournament, and visit the boardwalk, and-" she was cut off by Trunks.   
  
"Wait, wait. Goten's coming?"   
  
"Well yeah, just in case you couldn't come that way I wouldn't be alone," she blinked. Trunks opened his mouth to protest, but Hotiku beat him to it.   
  
"No time to talk, go get your stuff and we'll be on our way, oh and get some of those ki scramblers so Vegita doesn't find us," she smiled as he quickly made his way up the stairs, muttering something incoherent.   
  
~*~   
  
"Ready?" Hotiku whispered. They had all already changed into their bathing suits and had secured a ki scrambler on their temples. They were now standing in the foyer of Capsule Corp.   
  
"Ready," both Trunks and Goten nodded. In the blink of an eye, they had teleported out of the house and onto an isolated area of the beach.   
  
"Yatta! We made it out!" Goten jumped in joy. "We're free!"   
  
"Hey!" Hotiku said loudly, getting their attention. "Race ya to the water," she said mischievously before they all took off in a mad dash towards the ocean. They stopped when it was about several feet deep.   
  
"Ha! I win," Trunks said triumphantly earning a splash from Hotiku. "Hey!" He splashed her back, in which she ducked under water and Goten was the one who got splashed. This quickly turned into a war between the trio, every man… er woman… or alien for themselves.   
  
"Ew! Salt water!" Hotiku spit the water that had splashed into her mouth. Holding her fist together she swung them around sending a large wave of water towards the both of them. Sputtering, the boys both turned on her.   
  
"Ha! You don't mess with us!" Goten cried.   
  
"Especially in a water fight!" Trunks added.   
  
"Oh yeah?" she challenged and promptly pounced on Trunks' back and pushing him underwater. Goten burst into fits of laughter as Trunks' hands could be seen splashing above the water. "Whoa," was all Hotiku managed to say as she was pulled under along with Trunks, which resulted only in making Goten laugh even more. He managed to grab her from behind and flew up out of the water.   
  
"Yeah," Trunks received her challenge. Coughing, she tried to release his grasp, but only caused him to tighten his grip around her.   
  
"Hey, no fair! Let go," she managed to free her arms and was now pushing at his arms.   
  
"No way, not until you admit we rule," he snickered.   
  
"Ugh, never," she looked back at him, "Goten, make him let go!" She pleaded with him. He only crossed his arms and smirked. "Goten!" she looked at him in disbelief.  
  
"Admit it!" he chose to be on Trunks side.   
  
"I don't believe this!" she huffed.   
  
"If you don't admit it, I'll never let you go," Trunks smirked.   
  
"Well, then I guess I'm not going anywhere then," she smirked back, knowing exactly what he was going to do, which made him tighten his grasp around her waist as expected. "Ow! Trunks! I can't breathe!" she lied, making a pained face to prove her point.   
  
"Gomen, Hotti!" he quickly loosened his grasp and set her down on the shore, only to have her run off.   
  
"Haha, sucker!" she blew a raspberry at him.   
  
"Why that little—" They both got up to chase after her. She abruptly stopped and looked off into the distance, further down the shore.   
  
"Hotiku, what is it?" Goten asked her.   
  
"They're so happy," she mumbled. They looked in the direction she was staring at to see two kids playing in the sand, grins on their faces. "What are they doing?" she asked.   
  
"They're building a sand castle. Hotiku, have you never done this?" Trunks asked in disbelief.   
  
"I've never seen anything like that before," she continued to admire the small towers they were making.   
  
"Come on," Trunks pulled her by her arm.   
  
"Where are we going?" she asked, tearing her gaze away from the kids. Before he answered her question, he sat her down in the wet sand. "Trunks, wha-"   
  
"Shh, don't talk, just build," he sat in front of her.   
  
"But-" she gave him a distressed look. Goten placed his hands on her shoulders behind her. She looked back at him, receiving an assuring look.   
  
I don't know how to do this… she placed her hands on the sand and slowly gathered it in a pile. "I can't do this," she shook her head.   
  
"Wimp," Goten said. Hotiku scoffed and threw a handful of sand at him, over her shoulder.  
  
"Come on, we'll help you," Trunks placed his hand over hers'. She sighed and looked at them.  
  
"You guys are really aggravating, you know that?"   
  
"We know."   
  
~*~   
  
Miyako moaned as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Ginger, remind me never to sleep in those barracks again!"   
  
"No problem," the brunette said cheerfully. Opening the door of the space ship, they found that they had landed on an abandoned beach.   
  
"I don't get it, why would Hotiku be in such a deserted inhabitants?" Taga asked, looking around.   
  
"Well, we'll just have to find out, now won't we?" Miyako replied. Suddenly, the roaring of an engine was heard from behind them and stopped next to them. Inside the jeep, Transwarp sat in the driver's seat and Zack standing in the passenger's.   
  
"Miyako, Celeste, you're with us. You too, Taga; the rest of you follow close, but not too close. She's not alone, we might have to fight them off. Be prepared, be cautious; expect the unexpected. And above all, watch each others' backs." Zack ordered as the three soldiers hopped into the jeep.   
  
"Let's get this party started," Transwarp smirked and drove down the ramp and across the sand at top speed.   
  
"Miyako, there are weapons back there, distribute them and make sure they've been prepped," Zack said from the front seat.   
  
"Alright, line up ladies and gentlemen," Miyako said, while she quickly started arming and putting together the various weapons, "we've got energy gauntlets, EMP crossbows and even the newly developed electrical gloves. That's right, you heard me, electrical gloves. Come and get 'em while they're hot!" she tossed every one of them each of the weapons, but left herself without a crossbow.   
  
"What about you, Miyako?" Celeste asked.   
  
"Little kids and pregnant ladies, back up, because I, the great Miyako, have," she sheathed a sword from its carrying case, "Faith, the ultimate sword. She's a genuine, one of a kind, made by the one and only Hephaestus himself, and powered by the almighty Minerva." She showed it off proudly, turning it from side to side as it gleamed in the sunlight.   
  
"Where'd you get that?!" Transwarp asked, looking at her from the rear-view mirror.   
  
"Swiped it from the Ancients," she smirked.   
  
"Nice, very nice," Zack complimented her, and then proceeded to look straight ahead.   
  
~*~   
  
Standing up, the trio made their way to a few huts to change into regular clothes.   
  
I'm feeling something… like a presence… must be that fluid still running around in my veins that Sheik injected me with. Hotiku thought, adjusting her hat and walked out wearing a black frock, white tank top and black shorts.   
  
~*~   
  
Miyako opened her eyes and looked at Zack, who nodded towards her.   
  
She feels us, looks like the disillusionment hasn't taken away her powers and strength completely, Miyako thought.   
  
That's good, we'll have time to build her up, and you can finally give her the remedy dosages, Zack spoke to her through their shared telepathy.   
  
Of course, she replied.   
  
~*~   
  
The three teens had been walking around the boardwalk for a few minutes, when Hotiku stopped dead in her tracks.   
  
"What is it?" Goten asked. Not saying a word, she grabbed Trunks wrist and dragged him to a small booth.   
  
"What are you doing!?" he asked.   
  
"Getting your ear pierced, duh," she said proudly.   
  
"Nani!?" he looked back at her. "I don't want my ear pierced!"   
  
"Come on, I have to repay you somehow!" she placed her hands on her hips.   
  
"So buy me a meal, but I am not getting my ear pierced!" he jumped up and ran back to the isolated area of the beach. Goten and Hotiku quickly followed him, so that they wouldn't be separated. Finally catching up to him, Hotiku looked over at the purple-haired boy.   
  
"Wuss."   
  
~*~   
  
"There they are," he pointed towards the three teens.   
  
"Alright everyone, stay sharp and hold on," said Transwarp as he swiftly maneuvered the jeep towards the trio.   
  
~*~   
  
Hotiku wrapped her arms around Trunks neck, and embraced him. "Thank you, Trunks," she said sincerely. Suddenly, she pushed herself off of him in fear, keeping her eyes locked on the figures behind him. Trunks turned around to see who or what it was, only to coil back in fear as well.   
  
"T-t-tousan!" All three stammered. Standing there menacingly, Vegita and Gohan had their hands planted firmly on either one of Goku's shoulders. Gohan let go of his father as Vegita and Goku teleported behind Hotiku and grabbed her arms before teleporting by the shore. Goku let go of them both and teleported back to Trunks and Goten.   
  
"Ow! Let go!" Hotiku wriggled out of Vegita's grasp only to receive a sharp slap from him. She looked back at him, holding her cheek.   
  
"A ship just landed, and I'm guessing its your little guardian friends," he spat.   
  
"So?" she glared at him with murderous eyes.   
  
"So, what if it had been the enemy?!" he spat. "You tore both the brats away from training and you wouldn't have been prepared to take him on!" Vegita levitated and started to fly away.   
  
"Well, then we would have been exhausted from training," she muttered as she watched his retreating form, when she realized she had to walk all the way back to them.   
  
~*~   
  
Only a few meters away from them, they witnessed the three males suddenly appear.   
  
Great, now there are more of them, Miyako thought.   
  
Doesn't matter, we've got them outnumbered, Zack replied.   
  
"We're going in," Transwarp said as he quickly swerved the car, inches away from the targets. Moving with the jeep's momentum, Celeste, Taga and Zack jumped out of the vehicle and surrounded them, aiming their weapons towards them. Miyako stayed in the back of the jeep hidden. Not long after they had hopped out, Cedric and Astria blurred into sight and surrounded the open areas around them.   
  
"Don't move!" Zack aimed his palms, covered with the electrical gloves, at Trunks. Small thunderbolts crackled around his fingers as he held his hands firmly. The saiya-jin males froze in place, confused at what was going on. Meanwhile, Zack had subtly motioned to Transwarp to take his cover, in which he rapidly shot up into the sky and hid behind the large palm tree leaves, along with Ginger.   
  
"Who are you?" Gohan asked.   
  
"We're asking the questions," Celeste hissed.   
  
"Where is she?" Zack interrogated, very aware that they knew whom he was talking about, which they did.   
  
Goten immediately glared at him, "you're not taking Hotiku," he said in a low and dangerous voice. Miyako stood up in the back of the jeep and blurred behind him and jumped on his back, placing him in a headlock.   
  
"Don't underestimate us, boy," she growled. Goten promptly flipped her over him, causing her to release a wire from her gauntlet, hooking it to a tree as she swung around and planted her feet on his chest, sending him to the ground. She straddled his waist as the wire recoiled back, aiming her gauntlet at his throat. He made a move to get up, tempting her. "Ah, ah," she warned, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."   
  
"Why not?" he glared.   
  
"Because this puppy's loaded with my energy, just waiting for me to release it," she clocked a component of the gauntlet as if it were a gun. Evidently, it was enough to keep Goten under control, but still keeping his guard up.   
  
"We're not going down without a fight," Vegita scowled.   
  
"Looking forward to it," said Miyako, keeping her eyes on Goten. "Go," she ordered, causing Zack to pull his gauntlet, releasing his wire and sped off towards Hotiku.   
  
"So… comfy?" Goten snickered as Miyako growled at him and charged her gauntlet as it made a high pitched electronic whirring sound.   
  
~*~   
  
Hotiku stormed off back towards the group, completely oblivious to what was happening.   
  
"Stupid, no good, tailless, son of a…" she muttered under her breathe, but didn't have time to continue, or react, as she was grabbed from behind. Hiding her surprise, she flipped her assailant over her. She looked up to see a blonde-haired boy and screamed the moment she recognized him.   
  
"I take it you remember me."   
  
~*~   
  
Hearing Hotiku's scream, Trunks took a step to go after her.   
  
"Freeze," Taga threatened.   
  
"Screw this," he growled, "I'm not letting you take her from us!" As if on cue, Zack reappeared with Hotiku on his back; she was grinning.   
  
"Found a mate already?" Hotiku smirked at Miyako, causing Goten to blush furiously.   
  
"Not likely," she snorted, getting up. She launched herself at Hotiku as she received an embrace.   
  
"What the hell took you guys so long?!" she complained.   
  
"Taga here decided to go Haven sliding," Cedric nodded his head towards Taga, who along with the fire haired boy, Celeste and Astria still had their weapons aimed at them.   
  
"Ugh, at ease," Hotiku waved her hand at them, immediately resulting in them dropping their weapons.   
  
"Don't tell me that you of all people are a commander," Vegita growled.   
  
"That's Sergeant to you, Sarge for short," Hotiku beamed.   
  
"Ha! You couldn't lead if your life depended on it. Of course, I guess it's easy to command these weaklings," he motioned to the guardians.   
  
"I don't like this one," Miyako disapproved, "he's too much of an asshole."  
  
"Don't worry, this is his good mood," Hotiku snickered.   
  
"I'm going to obliterate you two," he snapped. Miyako scoffed and waved her hand at him, immediately freezing him in the position he had been.   
  
"Ah, much better," she chuckled.   
  
"Excuse me, but what the hell is going on?!" Trunks yelled.   
  
"Oh yeah, you guys are still here, I forgot," Hotiku smirked, earning a glare from him. "These," she motioned her arm towards the new arrivals, "are my fellow guardians… although a few of you are missing," she raised an eyebrow.   
  
"Oh no we're not," said a male voice behind her, causing her to jump. She turned around to look at who the voice belonged to only to throw her arms around his neck.   
  
"Transwarp! Kami-sama, I can't believe you're here!"   
  
"Who the hell is Kami-sama?" he raised an eyebrow.   
  
"Who the hell are you?" Trunks eyed him.   
  
"Oh Trunks, don't be so jealous," Hotiku said, "This is my brother." Miyako snapped her fingers, 'unfreezing' Vegita from his position causing him to stumble forward slightly. He muttered something under his breath about taking advantage of royalty.   
  
"So sorry to drift from the reunion, but we have a mission to accomplish. Hotiku did you get the message?" Zack asked.   
  
"Hai, so who is this guy who's supposedly coming anyway?" she asked. Miyako and Zack looked at each other nervously. "Nani? Guys, who is it?"   
  
Miyako said something incoherent under her breath before inhaling deeply, "It's Saige."   
  
Hotiku froze, she couldn't believe it, Saige? She couldn't remember how many times she had battled with him, refusing him. Every time, she would give him a chance to quit chasing after her and return with them to protect their princess. He would never agree to and they ended up tearing each other apart, the battle would only end if they were both knocked out or one of the guardians intervened and caused Saige to retreat.   
  
"Saige?" She whispered. "But… but I thought it was over. Why won't he just give up and leave me alone?!" She growled.   
  
"Honey, I'm afraid there's more," Miyako swallowed hard. "Saige has been captured by Rain, he's coming not only for you, but for your knowledge of the whereabouts of Princess Cassidy as well."   
  
"No… we're not going to let him," she snapped her head up, "with my knowledge of where the princess is, he'll be able to find her and gain her power. With it, Rain will be able to jump through dimensions and conquer each and every one of them. We'll train, we'll fight, and we'll win."   
  
"Sorry to interrupt the speech, but what the hell are you guys talking about?" Gohan asked.   
  
"Gomen guys, but this is top secret information, only the guardians are able to access it and y—" Taga started.   
  
"Oh drop the perfect soldier act, Taga," Miyako snapped.   
  
"Yes, ma'am."   
  
"That wasn't an order!" she growled.   
  
"Ma'am, sorry, ma'am," he saluted her.   
  
"For god's sake, stop calling me ma'am!!" she slapped the back of his head causing Goten to snicker.   
  
"Yes, ma—er Miyako," he crossed his arms, finally satisfying her.   
  
"Anyway! Here's the dealio," Celeste started, "This guy Saige, right, he's after Hotiku, wants her, literally, like that; By now you know that she's from another planet. She's the only one who knows the location of Princess Cassidy. She has a power which allows her to slip her mind and spirit into other realms, aka dimensions; Rain wants this power to literally conquer the universe, and with his power and hers', he'll be able to, that's just about the gist of it."   
  
"Oh… so that's it," Goten blinked.   
  
"Don't worry, honey, you'll catch up," Miyako winked at him.   
  
"We better get going, we should train as much as po—" Hotiku quickly grasped Transwarp's arm as she held her forehead, her face twisted in pain.   
  
"She's goin' in," he warned.   
  
"Miyako!" Zack snapped his head towards her. She quickly pulled two small devises out of her pocket and pressed one on her temple and the other on her neck. A few seconds passed and she slowly opened her eyes.   
  
"It… it worked," she breathed.   
  
"Of course it worked, I invented it," Miyako beamed.   
  
"See Trunks, I told you she would find a way to stop this hideous disorder," Hotiku stood up as Miyako removed the devices.   
  
"Yeah, yeah," he rolled his eyes.   
  
"Hmm," Miyako held her chin and walked around him.   
  
"What are you doing?" he eyed her suspiciously.   
  
"You picked a good one," Miyako winked at Hotiku.   
  
"Oh yeah," she walked over to him and gave him a quick peck on the lips, causing him to jump back in shock, his face a nice shade of crimson.   
  
"Have you lost your mind? What was that for?" Trunks blinked. She only chuckled in response, and rested her arm on Goten's shoulder.   
  
"So I could be entertained," she finally said as she glanced over to her brother and witnessed as he menacingly walked towards Trunks.   
  
"Listen, pretty boy, you don't come near my sister. You don't touch her, you don't even breathe on her, or you'll live to regret it," he growled at him.   
  
"Uh… right?" he raised an eyebrow.   
  
"That wasn't a request, that's an order," he hissed.   
  
"I don't have to listen to you! I'm not one of your loser soldiers!" Trunks yelled.   
  
"Loser?! Who are you calling a loser?!" All the guardians, but Miyako, Hotiku and Zack, yelled.   
  
"This is great," Hotiku laughed.   
  
"Eh… well, not loser… per say," he panicked.   
  
"Hey!" they all turned around, looking at Vegita.   
  
"Do you all mind? We've got an enemy to prepare for," Gohan crossed his arms.   
  
"Not only that, but you three," Vegita pointed to Trunks, Hotiku and Goten, "stole a few of the woman's inventions!" he snapped, making them immediately pull off the devices on their temples.   
  
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Astria yawned. "I'm bored, we need some action around here."   
  
"You're right," Hotiku managed to stifle her giggles, "who's up for tag?"   
  
"Tag?" Goku perked up as the other's sweatdropped.   
  
"Yeah, like this," she jumped behind Zack and slapped him on the back, then did the same with the others as well, "you're it!"   
  
"Get her!" Zack shouted and proceeded to lead the 'war' against the one-woman army.   
  
"Nya, nya," she stuck her tongue out at them and jumped into the trees. As she jumped down to the ground, kicking up sand, the others followed her in sync as in a domino-like effect. Just as Hotiku touched down, she was immediately swept off her feet and thrown over Zack's shoulder.   
  
"Whoa! Hey, no fair, you guys got faster…" she whined.   
  
"Aren't you going to stop them so they don't take her away from us?" Goten leaned over and whispered in Trunks' ear.   
  
"No… look at her," he nodded his head subtly, "she's so happy." Goten looked over and sure enough Hotiku was as cheerful as ever. Laughing as Zack swung her back onto her feet. She looked at him sideways before poking him in his side causing him to jump slightly, again having her laugh again.   
  
"You're right… but still, I don't want her to leave," he sighed.   
  
"I know what you mean… I think I have a plan," he smirked and walked over to them.   
  
"Hotiku, can I talk to you for a sec.?" He asked.   
  
"Sure…" she didn't move from her spot, the other guardians watching him intently.   
  
"Uh… alone," he scratched his head.   
  
"Huh uh, pretty boy," Miyako huffed, "you got something to say to 'er, you say it here."   
  
"Hai," Zack said firmly. Trunks sighed, and crossed his arms.   
  
"You guys don't have to take her from here, she's made a home here, it wouldn't be right," he started, but he was quickly interrupted by Zack.   
  
"That's were you're wrong, she, Miyako and I live on the move, we can't risk staying in one place for too long. She's used to it and so are we, we have to keep running or they'll find us and take us back," he raised an eyebrow.   
  
"Yeah, I already know that, she told me," he growled, pointed to Hotiku.   
  
"Trunks," she whispered harshly.   
  
"You told him?" Miyako looked at her, she dropped her head to look at the ground.   
  
"I told them all," she muttered.   
  
"How stupid can you be?" Zack growled. "You have a responsibility to keep yours and our pasts as much a secret as possible! What if this information gets leaked out and the Riena officers become aware?! They'll be able to track our location anywhere now! You have rules and specific duties! You have responsi—"   
  
"Responsibility?!" She snapped her head up to look at him, "Screw the responsibility, Zack! I can't take it anymore, we've been running our whole lives, me most of all! I'm never going to be able to have a nice normal life because of that damn operation and this damn thing that I can't even control! We can't even stay together for more than a few days because of them!"   
  
"What the hell do you mean 'you most of all'?! I'm the one who has to make up for all your screw ups and mistakes, I have to clean up after you!" Zack yelled at her.   
  
"Oh shut up, Zack. Leave her alone, you know she has that condition, and her seizures are the worst because of it!" Miyako spat.   
  
"Miyako!" Hotiku yelled, her face red with both anger and embarrassment.   
  
"What seizures?!" Trunks asked. "You didn't tell me about those!"   
  
"I couldn't, because this bakayarou," she pointed to Zack, "was all on my case about 'responsibility' and all that crap," she mimicked him.   
  
"It's a good thing she didn't," Zack turned on him, "you would have probably made a huge scene of it and brought out the attention of Riena!"   
  
"What the hell is your problem!? This isn't a damn conspiracy!" he snapped.   
  
"That's what you think! You have it easy compared to us!"   
  
"How can you say that!? You don't even know him!" Miyako screamed.   
  
"I can tell by his behavior," he said low and dangerous.   
  
"Behavior my ass, you're just jealous because I know her better than you do!"   
  
"That's bull shit, straight up bull, I grew up with her!"   
  
"Yeah and then abandoned her because you were too scared of the 'scary scientists' that you ran away with your tail between your legs!" Trunks spat.   
  
"Those scientists put us through hell and you don't know jack abo-"   
  
"Both of you just shut UP!!" Both males were sent crashing towards opposite trees as Hotiku screamed at the top of her lungs. She gasped, realizing what she just did. "Oh my gawd."   
  
"Shh, shh, it's okay," Miyako embraced her, trying to sooth her.   
  
"What the hell is going on?" she sobbed.   
  
It's happening, Zack, Miyako thought.   
  
Ya damn right it's happening, and fast, that hurt like a bitch! He replied.   
  
Hotiku stopped crying suddenly, "Did you guys just say something?"   
  
Miyako looked down at her, "Nani? You heard us? Shit, this can't be good, it's happening too fast!"   
  
"What's happening? What's going on?" Goku asked, finally speaking up.   
  
"She has to come with Zack and I," Miyako said quickly as she grasped Hotiku's right arm and held it up, examining her wrist, "we have to train her to use her renewing pow—" she stopped in mid-speech as her eyes widened in shock. "Zack!!"   
  
"Nani?" he walked over wearily as Miyako showed him her wrist.   
  
"Look," she pointed at it.   
  
"Guys… itai, that hurts!" Hotiku twisted around.   
  
"They're reappearing," he mumbled.   
  
"What's reappearing?! Will somebody fill me in?! You guys are scaring me!"   
  
"Hotiku do you remember what these mean?" Zack gently held her wrist, showing her three small dots in a triangle position, they were faint but they were there.   
  
"Uh, they're birth marks?" she guessed.   
  
"Iie, these indicate the level of your Toria-jin powers. You and Miyako share several types of them far greater than any others, another reason for you two being guardians, but because of your disillusionment both your psychic and physical power have been disappearing and lowering," he explained.   
  
"Toria-jin?!" Vegita yelled. "That weakling squirt is a Toria-jin!?" He asked in disbelief.   
  
"We all are," Blade said through clenched teeth.   
  
"Shut it up, the lot of ya's!!" Hotiku yelled, "I'm trying to figure out what the hell is wrong with me!"   
  
"There's nothing wrong with you, hun," Ginger spoke softly, "your powers are simply coming back to you now that Miyako has administered the first remedy."   
  
"The only thing we can't figure out is why it's happening so fast. You're already able to open the communication link between the four of us and your telekinesis is kicking in," Miyako stated.   
  
"But I only heard you and Zack, who's the fourth?" Hotiku asked.   
  
"The fourth is Saige," Zack muttered.   
  
"We were all psychically connected through the enhancement, it reacted to our Toria-jin powers," Miyako said.   
  
"You think the remedy is having a chemical reaction to the serum Sheik injected into her?" Zack asked asked.   
  
"Could be, we need more info on it, we heard you think about that," Miyako replied.   
  
"Kami-sama, she's like a freakin' genius!" Goten whispered to Trunks.   
  
"We can't waste anymore time," Cedric spoke up.   
  
"Hai, we have to take her back asap," Astria agreed.   
  
"Peace, we out," Celeste said.   
  
"It's been nice knowin' ya's, but it's time we blew this joint," Miyako blew a kiss to them and turned around to leave.   
  
"See ya," Zack saluted them sloppily and walked off, dragging Hotiku with them.   
  
"Leave? Now? But I can't go!" she protested.   
  
"Wait!" Trunks yelled, catching all of their attention. "Like I started saying before, she doesn't have to leave… none of you do, you can stay with us at Capsule Corps."   
  
"Capsule what?" Miyako raised an eyebrow.   
  
"It's my home, I live with the Briefs," Hotiku explained.   
  
"There are nine of us, including Hotiku. You'd have to find appropriate accommodations for us all," Zack raised his voice.   
  
"We'll be able to give each of you your own room and still have extras," Trunks replied.   
  
"They have to be sanitary and dressed for each of us," Blade fought.   
  
"Already taken care of," he smirked, looking very much like his father.   
  
"Are you prepared to feed all of us with sufficient nutrition?" Celeste asked.   
  
"With seconds to go around."   
  
"You're efficient, I like that," Blade complimented him, raising an eyebrow.   
  
"Then it's settled, we move in, train and prepare for Saige," Zack stated.   
  
"We'll need time to gather our belongings from the ship," Miyako said, "then we'll be on our way."   
  
"Take your time," Goten waved before they all blurred out of sight and back with their arms full of baggage in the blink of an eye.   
  
Miyako walked passed Goten, "taking your time awards you a slow painful death," she smirked as he swallowed hard.   
  
"H-hai," he replied shakily.   
  
"Well, then shall we?" Taga suggested.   
  
"We shall," Zack said.   
  
Hotiku walked up to Trunks and leaned on his shoulder, "oh you are going to regret this the second you realize the mess nine Toria-jins put together can do," she chuckled and walked off.   
  
~*~   
  
The large group of teens walked in the front door of Capsule Corps. followed by the three male adults.   
  
"Gosh, Vegita," Goku patted his back, "I hope you can handle all of them."   
  
"This pathetic bunch of weaklings? No problem," he snorted. Not a moment after he had said this, crashes were heard from inside followed by loud music and conversation.   
  
"Hey check out this stereo!" Miyako pressed several buttons rapidly and tuned it to a good radio station.   
  
"Hey, that sounds great!" Astria cheered.   
  
"Hotti? You guys have a pool right?" she asked.   
  
"Hai, it's huge! You should see it!" she replied.   
  
"Let's go water dance!" she suggested joyfully.   
  
"Water what?" Goten asked.   
  
"Water dance, it's where we… wait a minute. Dance? Oh, shit!" Hotiku yelled, and quickly ran off in search of Bulma, followed by Trunks, Goten and Miyako. "Where are you?! Bulma!"   
  
"What is it?" she ran down the stairs.   
  
"Did someone call asking for me?" she asked in a panic.   
  
"No, hun, not today."   
  
"Aw, man… when are they gonna call?" she asked herself.   
  
"Care to explain?" Trunks asked.   
  
"Uh… you remember that costume I was trying on?" she asked, laughing nervously.   
  
"Hai."   
  
"Well, it wasn't a costume, it was a dance uniform. I went to an audition to see if I could get in, they were supposed to call to say if I made it or not," she said.   
  
"That skimpy thing was a dance uniform?! Oh man!" he burst out laughing. "At first I thought you were in some kind of street mime!"   
  
"WHAT?!" she screeched. "What'd ya mean a mime?! Have you looked in a mirror lately, you look like some freak clown!"   
  
"Hey!"   
  
"Wasn't your hair pinkish when you were a kid?" she spat.   
  
"N-n-nani?!" he stammered.   
  
"Humph, not much has changed," she snorted.   
  
"You're so dead!" he yelled before charging at her.   
  
"Uh-oh," she quickly jumped away from his reach as he made an attempt to grab her. Hotiku quickly ran out of the room and into the large living area.   
  
"Get back here and fight like a man! I mean…" he quickly tried to correct himself but instead launched at her again.   
  
"Whoa!" she barely dodged and jumped up to the ceiling. Unfortunately for her, another one of her powers kicked in and she stuck to the ceiling! "Ah! I can't get down! Miyako!"   
  
"Flip over and crawl to the wall! You won't fall, you can stick to it," she instructed.   
  
"Are you sure?" she flipped on her stomach.   
  
"Hai." Hotiku started to crawl but when she was about half way to the wall, her power left her and she plummeted to the ground.   
  
"Ah!" she screamed, as Trunks blurred under her and caught her body before she hit the ground. "Arigatou… I thought you said I wouldn't fall!"   
  
"Heh, heh… oops?" Miyako laughed nervously. Hotiku was just about to argue with her when she heard Vegita yelling.   
  
"Yes, that brat Hotiku is here! She's flirting with my son!" he yelled.   
  
Hotiku gasped, "the phone!" She immediately jumped out of Trunks' arms and ran towards Vegita. She snatched the cordless phone from his grasp.   
  
"Hello, this is Hotiku, I'm sorry my friend's dad is drunk. I think he had a little too much scotch," she covered up. Vegita was about to protest when Miyako glared at him.   
  
"Say one word, and I'll freeze you again," she warned. Vegita grumbled and walked off.   
  
"Uh huh? Yes, I understand, I have to work tomorrow," Hotiku said, "have a nice day." She hung up the phone and turned around to look at them all. "That was the restaurant, not the studio, I have to work tomorrow," she sighed, and plopped down on the couch.   
  
~*~   
  
By now, the entire group of guardians had gathered in the living area and was crowded around the couches, with the phone sitting on the table in front of Hotiku. Suddenly, the phone rang and she immediately picked it up.   
  
"Moshi, moshi… yes this is Hotiku, uh huh… okay… alright, really? Okay, that's fine, thank you." She hung up, and sat on the edge of her seat silently.   
  
"Well?" Trunks urged her to tell them the answer. After a long pause, she finally spoke up.   
  
"I made it!" she jumped.   
  
"Oh my gawd, that's incredible!" Miyako hugged her.   
  
"I know! And the best part is they want me to be their lead dancer!" she said excitedly.   
  
Miyako squealed, "This is perfect! Now I have an excuse to go out shopping!"   
  
"Congratulations, Hotti," Trunks embraced her.   
  
"Thanks, promise you'll come to my shows?" she asked.   
  
"I wouldn't miss them for the world, I'll be at every one of them," he smiled. Hotiku smiled back and hugged him again.   
  
"Arigatou, Trunks-kun," she whispered.   
  
"Come on! Quit flirting with your mate," Miyako grabbed her wrist.   
  
"He's not my mate!" She yelled, blushing furiously. "Itai, Miyako that hurts!" she tried to pull from her grasp.   
  
"Oops, wrong wrist," she let go of her hand.   
  
"Thanks," she muttered sarcastically.   
  
"Now, before we go shopping, we're going to do at least one round of build up," she said firmly. Every single one of the guardians, save Miyako and Transwarp, complained negatively.   
  
"Mi-chan, no, please Kami no," Hotiku whined.   
  
"Kora! It'll build up your endurance and their natural reflexes!" she stated.   
  
"Oh, alright," she huffed, "but only one round!"   
  
"You heard the girl, circle her!" Miyako commanded. Five of the guardians stood in a circle around Hotiku. "You too, Zack," she scolded.   
  
"Do I have to?" he said, his voice low.   
  
"Yes," she stated firmly, making him stand next to Celeste in the circle.   
  
"Alright let's get this over with…" Hotiku lifted her left hand.   
  
"And no bracing yourself!" Transwarp stated.   
  
"Easy for you to say," Hotiku muttered and suddenly spun around, her left hand slapping the six guardians across the face. Goten winced at the pain that they were going through as they all, including Hotiku, cried out in pain.   
  
"What was the point of that?" Trunks raised an eyebrow.   
  
"Like she said, raises my endurance and their natural reflexes," Hotiku winced as she held her wrist.   
  
"Why your endurance?" he asked.   
  
"My left wrist…" she stood up, recovering from the blows, "is my weak spot, hurts like a bitch."   
  
"Now that that's done, it's shopping time! I've never been to a mall on Earth! What are they like?" Miyako asked.   
  
"For the love of Kami, someone save me," Hotiku whimpered as Miyako dragged her out the door. 


	11. Chapter 11

Unknown Realms  
  
Chapter 11- Training  
  
A dark figure adjusted the devise on his ears, after being in that position for hours he had to rub his arms to get his blood flowing. The devise was like a scouter, but stretched across both his eyes.  
  
"Soon, Casaretta, soon…" he chuckled evilly, running a glove covered hand through his sleek black hair.  
  
~*~  
  
Miyako burst through the front door of Capsule Corps. her hands carrying several shopping bags.  
  
"We're back!" she yelled, her voice echoing throughout the many empty corridors.   
  
"Thank Kami…" Hotiku came in behind her, muttering as she held more of her bags.  
  
"Oh, you're so sweet to carry those for me!" Miyako giggled.   
  
"Yeah, just call me the Candy Man," she said sarcastically, "do you really need to buy this much every time you drag me to the mall?"  
  
"What are you talking about? You know this is just the bare minimum!"   
  
"Right… I knew that," she dropped all the bags at once like a sack of potatoes, to her they might as well have been.  
  
"Be careful with those," Miyako gasped, "you know how much those cost me!"  
  
"You blew off nearly three hundred bucks in one hour, and that was the just first row of stores!" she complained.  
  
"That row was short," she defended herself.  
  
"Mi-chan, I could barely walk out of the store doors with all the bags piled in my arms."  
  
"Those doors were short too," she crossed her arms. Hotiku rolled her eyes and stretched her sore limbs.  
  
"Who ever thought clothes could weigh so much," she sighed as Zack came down the stairs, "oh thank Kami you're here! You get the pleasure of carrying Mi-chan's bags!"  
  
"Huh uh, I ain't getting stuck with bag duty again!" he yelled.  
  
"Bag duty? Oh, no, no no! This isn't bag duty, this is just helping out Miyako, you know after a hard day of shopping she gets so tired," Hotiku said dramatically as Miyako put on her best puppy dog face.  
  
"Pwease, Zacky-kun, I'll bake you a cake," she sang.   
  
"No! That's okay, I'll take them for you anyway," he quickly picked up the bags and ran upstairs, putting them down in Miyako's appointed room, which she had yet to decorate. As soon as he left, she and Hotiku shared a high-five before walking off into the kitchen for a snack.  
  
"What'd ya want?" Hotiku asked.  
  
"Ooh, do you guys have spaghetti?? I haven't had that in a long time," she smiled.  
  
"Mi-chan, we'll ask Bulma if she can make that for dinner, this is a snack," she laughed.  
  
"Spaghetti's not a snack too?" she asked.  
  
"Uh… no," Hotiku raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Oh, poo… and I really wanted to try the Earth kind too."  
  
"We've got grapes and Ritz bits… uh, chocolate…" she started listing the things as Miyako cut her off.  
  
"Ritz bits! They're so yummy," she giggled, "the little sandwich-y things, they're so cute!"  
  
Hotiku looked at her for a moment before handing her the box. She blinked as she popped them in her mouth. Same old Mi-chan…  
  
What'd ya mean by that? Miyako thought, looking at her sideways.  
  
"Uh, nothing… you're just back to your… ditzy self," she produced a sweat drop.  
  
"Of course!" she smiled, and then looked down at the box. "Ah! It's empty!"  
  
"Oh well, come on, you've gotta go decorate your room like everyone else," Hotiku pushed her up the stairs and into her room. "Now, don't come out 'til you're done!" With that, she closed the door and ran into her room, flopping down on her bed. She really hadn't had time to decorate her room either with training and all. As she glanced down at the two small bags that contained the small items she had bought with, she decided to do it later; most likely in the same fashion she had done it at Gohan's house. Right now she just wanted to rest, relax, and not be disturbed for the next couple of hours. Unfortunately for her, certain people in the house weren't going to let her.  
  
"Hey, Hotti!" Goten ran in and hopped on her bed, jumping up and down several times.  
  
"Ugh, what do you want, Goten?" she groaned, her voice muffled as she buried her face in her pillow.  
  
"What's up with your friend Miyako?" he asked, still jumping on her bed causing her body to bounce slightly with it.   
  
"What do you mean?" she flipped over on her back so she was looking at him.  
  
"She's like super smart one minute and now she's completely…"  
  
"Ditzy?" Hotiku filled in for him.  
  
"Yeah," he agreed, "what's up with that?"  
  
"She's just like that, man, she's a genius, but doesn't act like it. Like I said before, the element of surprise," she let out an exasperated sigh as Goten continued to jump on her bed.  
  
"What's she got against me?" he asked.  
  
"Okay, you lost me, now what are you talking about?" she raised an eyebrow.  
  
"She's like always insulting me or badgering me!" he stated.  
  
"Dude, she's just teasing you, it's not like she hates you, she's like that with a lot of people," she grasped a pillow next to her head and glared at Goten, "now GET OFF!" She threw the pillow at him, knocking him off the bed in mid-jump.  
  
"Hey! Ouch..." he pulled himself up.  
  
"Go away, Goten, I'm tired," she complained.  
  
"Tired? How can you be tired?"   
  
"You try shopping all day with Mi-chan, then be forced to carry all her bags for her!" she sat up on her bed and glared at him.  
  
"I would, but I think Vegita's going to make us train," he snickered.  
  
"Nani!? Now?! Why!?" she jumped up from her bed, nearly hitting her head on the ceiling.  
  
"I'm done!!!" came a high-pitched voice from down the hall.  
  
"That's Miyako, she probably finished decorating…" she sighed.  
  
"Let's go check it out," Goten said, dragging a protesting Hotiku along.   
  
The two walked down the hall and noticed that Zack and Trunks were also walking towards Miyako's room. Meeting up in front of her door, they knocked and were immediately greeted by the hyper active girl.  
  
"Check it out!" she smiled. They all looked inside, immediately face faulting.  
  
"It's so…" Trunks started.  
  
"Pink…" Zack finished for him. Sure enough, if you walked into the room you would immediately be surrounded by pink. Probably the only things that weren't some shade of pink were the walls and doors.  
  
"Well, of course! Don't look so shocked, it is my color after all," she laughed.   
  
"Right, I knew that," Hotiku raised an eyebrow and turned around to head back to her room, "know if anyone needs me… don't, I'll be resting in my room."  
  
"Sorry, Hotiku, we've got training to do, this Vegita guy wants to see how strong we are," Zack replied.  
  
"Man, I am seriously going to kill someone," she muttered.  
  
"Not likely," Zack muttered.  
  
"What do you mean by that?" she glared at him.  
  
"Babe, your power and strength have dropped immensely. Against me, I'd give you five minutes tops, and that's only if you're extremely lucky," he smirked.   
  
"Uh oh," Goten mumbled, bracing himself for the onslaught that was to come.  
  
Hotiku glared at Zack with murderous eyes, "Zack, you'd better savor your next five minutes," she growled.  
  
"Why?" he asked.  
  
"Because I'm going to kill you!" she launched herself at him, ready to brutally attack him. But before she reached her destination, she found herself looking at the floor. She realized that Trunks had intervened and she was now being slung over his shoulder.  
  
"See? You couldn't even see Trunks move in to stop you! You're weak!" he taunted.  
  
"You're dead! You hear me Zack? DEAD!!" she screamed as Trunks walked away with her and dropped her on his bed.  
  
"Calm down, Hotti," he warned.  
  
"Or what? You heard what he said, I'm going to tear him limb from limb!" she looked up at him, clenching her fists as she grasped the sheets on his bed.   
  
"But you know it's true, maybe not as to the extreme as he said it, but you have been getting weaker," he said.  
  
"You're agreeing with him?!" she cried in disbelief.  
  
"No, I'm just saying you should go train," he replied.   
  
"But I'm tired! Why doesn't anybody listen when I say that?"  
  
"Because no one cares," came a male voice from towards the door. They looked in the direction it had come from to see Vegita leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed and that infamous smirk on his face. "Both of you brats get into gear, we're going to find out just how strong these Toria-jins are," he spat the word Toria-jin as if it was poison.  
  
"It's a shame really," Hotiku said haughtily.   
  
"Nani? What is?" Vegita looked at her sideways.  
  
"Toria-jins and Saiya-jins are so much alike in so many ways," she smirked.  
  
"What are you talking about, brat?"   
  
"Yeah what he said," Trunks said, "except for the brat thing."  
  
"Our strength for one, then there's the fact about mates," she chuckled, "too bad you think so lowly of us."  
  
"Why do you say that?" Trunks asked. Hotiku got up and tapped his cheek lightly.  
  
"Think about it, what would a mixture of both be like? Especially one with the best qualities of both sides, and none of their weaknesses," walking past him, she crossed her arms and looked at Vegita.  
  
"It's a shame that never happened," he scowled, "could've been a great warrior."  
  
"Wouldn't it though," she snickered.  
  
"You guys are acting weird," Trunks looked at them quizzically.  
  
"Get ready, and meet the rest of us outside in five minutes," Vegita growled and walked out, leaving the two alone.  
  
"That was easy," Hotiku laughed.  
  
"What was?"  
  
"Getting rid of him, and getting you out of my way," she smirked.  
  
"What are you talking about now?" he looked at her questionably.  
  
"Because now there's no one in my way so I can go and knock Zack's block off!" she growled and ran for the door. Trunks acted quickly and grabbed her from her waist before she could make it to the hallway.  
  
"Oh no you don't, you're going to get dressed so we can go train," he said sternly.  
  
"Maybe I am getting weaker," she whimpered.  
  
~*~  
  
The nine guardians stood in a row, Miyako bouncing up and down slightly, obviously anxious to get started. Hotiku stood next to her stretching her quads. The others were either crossing their arms, examining their nails or yawning, all out of boredom.  
  
"You're all going to go into the gravity chamber and spar with each other, I'll be watching outside on this monitor to see your skill levels," Vegita explained. "Now go in there, so we can get this started already."  
  
No one moved, they all looked at each other questionably not sure of what to make of the situation. Vegita growled, growing impatient with them all when he could hear Hotiku snickering.   
  
"Would you care to share what the hell is so funny, brat?" he glared at her.   
  
"Poor Vegita, poor naïve Vegita," she chuckled, "we do not follow you, you are not our superior we take orders from no one, well, they follow me from time to time, but that's because I am their superior whether I like it or not."  
  
Vegita was about to retort, but stopped himself and smirked, "alright then."  
  
"Nani?" Hotiku raised an eyebrow she wasn't expecting this.  
  
"You all are soldiers and choose to live by soldiers' rules. Well, from now on during training you're going to be treated as soldiers," he scowled, "uh… fall in!" He ordered, and they immediately stood in a straight row, and saluted him. Vegita walked up and down the row, his arms behind his back and spoke authoritively.   
  
"During your training sessions, I am your superior, not this weakling squirt," he glared at Hotiku as he walked past her. As soon as his back was to her, she looked over at Miyako and turned her saluted hand into a puppet, mocking Vegita as he spoke. Miyako giggled causing Vegita to spin around immediately on his heel, but before he managed to, Hotiku had returned her salute and they both had to struggle to hold their straight faces.  
  
Vegita eyed them suspiciously before continuing, "now, you all will go into the gravity chamber and you will spar with one another."  
  
"Sir, permission to speak freely, sir," Taga took a step forward. Hotiku and Miyako had to bite their lips to keep from laughing. Vegita nodded at Taga, he could get used to this. "So like a free for all?"  
  
"Exactly, now go!" he ordered. All nine of them dropped their salutes and marched into the gravity chamber, still in a line. As soon as the door closed behind them, Miyako, Hotiku and Zack burst into laughter.   
  
"That was too easy!" Miyako giggled as they shared a high-five.  
  
"Alright, he's going to turn the monitor on any second now, so let's get on with this," Hotiku chuckled.  
  
"Hotiku, why don't you go spar with the less powerful guardians, me and Miyako'll be able to handle ourselves," Zack snickered.  
  
"No, I think I'll stay right where I am," she said calmly, glancing at Miyako knowingly. No one knew it, but before they started sparring, Miyako had administered a remedy to her that restored her physical strength and power back to her.  
  
"All right, but it's your funeral," he smirked only to have her return the smirk.   
  
~*~  
  
"Uh, tousan? What about us?" Trunks asked as he and Goten walked up behind him while he opened the monitor to view their fight.  
  
"Baka, don't you think I know what I'm doing!?" he snapped. Trunks clenched his teeth, he knew he was his father, but he was pushing him past his limit. "After they finish sparring, I'll pair everyone up according to their level of power, including you two. I already know how weak you two are."  
  
"How are they doing?" Goten asked, changing the subject, he didn't like to be considered weak, obviously.  
  
"Can't you see?" Vegita snapped. Goten looked up at the screen, he could see them all sparring, but something caught his attention.  
  
"Where are Hotiku, Miyako and Zack?" he asked.  
  
"Baka, what are you talking about?" Vegita asked, then looked up at the screen. Truthfully, he didn't want to admit it, but he was having difficulty keeping up with the trio they were moving so fast, even Hotiku. Of course, it was probably because the cameras couldn't pick them up fast enough, if they were inside the gravity chamber they probably would've been able to follow them.  
  
"I'm having trouble keeping track of them," Trunks said squinting, his eyes darting around the screen. Occasionally, he would see a blur or two when they collided, but other than that he couldn't spot them.  
  
"This is going to be harder than I thought…" Goten sighed.  
  
~*~  
  
It had been about an hour since they started sparring and they had begun to slow down a while ago. They thought it would never end when a screen appeared up in the corner of the chamber with Vegita scowling down at them. The guardians immediately froze, some in mid-swing, punch or kick, and looked up at him.  
  
"That's enough, come out and I'll distribute the results," he scowled as the screen disappeared.  
  
"Thank Kami!" Hotiku huffed as she hung on Zack's shoulder as they walked out.   
  
"Tired already?" Trunks snickered.   
  
"I would respond, but I'm out of breathe," she glared at him.  
  
"So what was the point of all that, Vegi-kun?" Miyako asked. Vegita frowned at the name she had given him before continuing.  
  
"For those of you who think we're done with training… you're wrong," Vegita snickered. Groans and protests were heard from the small crowd. "I'm going to either pair you up or put you in groups and you will spar until I say otherwise."  
  
"Ah well, me and Goten are all rested up so we'll have no problem with it," Trunks gloated.  
  
"Think again, brat," Vegita spat, "I'm putting you two up against the strongest in the group!"  
  
"Nani!?" they yelled simultaneously earning taunts, jeers and laughter from the guardians.  
  
"Sucks, don't it?" Hotiku stuck her tongue out at them.  
  
"Silence!" Vegita growled, immediately shutting them up. "That's better, now the groups go as follows: Astria, Ginger and Taga, you're all together." He said, receiving nods from them as they walked back into the gravity room and into the first chamber.  
  
"Cedric and Celeste, you two are in the second chamber," he ordered as they walked into their designated room.   
  
"Zack and Blade, you two are together, go to the third chamber."  
  
"Sir, yes, sir," they said in unison and walked into the chamber.  
  
"Now, for you four, don't think you're getting off easy," he warned.  
  
"Let me guess, you're putting me with Goten and Miyako with Trunks?" Hotiku said.  
  
"Wrong, brat, learn to hold your tongue or I'll do it for you," he hissed. Hotiku glared hatefully at him as he continued.  
  
"Trunks you are to spar with Hotiku, and Miyako you're with Kakkarot's brat," he spat.  
  
"Who the hell is Kakkarot?" she questioned.  
  
"My dad," Goten sighed.  
  
"Oh."  
  
"You will all be in the same chamber, but are only to fight with your partners," he said, "now go."  
  
"Man, I can't believe Hotiku was one of the strongest, wasn't she supposedly getting weaker?" Trunks whispered to Goten.  
  
"I heard that," she hissed.  
  
"Man, I feel sorry for you," Goten chuckled.  
  
"Goten, honey," Miyako said sweetly.  
  
"Hai?" he looked at her.  
  
"I'm not as easy as you think," she glared as both girls walked into the chamber, their backs to the boys.  
  
"You think she was telling the truth?" Goten asked Trunks who shrugged in response as they entered.   
  
Dropping into fighting stances, the four teens looked at their partners focusing on their surroundings and letting their senses expand.   
  
"You're going down, Trunks," Hotiku hissed.  
  
"After you," he replied.  
  
"Don't go easy on me just cause I'm a girl," Miyako warned.  
  
"But I might hurt you," he blinked.   
  
Hotiku's left eye twitched as she looked over at him. "Baka," she whispered harshly as Miyako launched herself at him attacking him off guard.  
  
Unfortunately for Hotiku, she had taken her focus off Trunks and had given him an advantage. He took this opportunity and rushed at her, landing a punch on the side of her face and sending her crashing into the wall behind her.  
  
"Kuso…" she cursed and wiped the blood from her chin, he'd hit her pretty hard and she wasn't going to let him get away with it. She ran towards him all the while in her mind she was thinking up several tactics on how to attack and turn the fight in favor of herself. As soon as she reached him, she threw her fist at him only to have him jump to the side. She swung her fist around and struck him in his stomach while he was still in mid-air. He grabbed her arm and flipped her over him.  
  
Goten had managed to place Miyako in a headlock as she struggled to get loose. They were now floating in mid-air, compliments of Goten, as he was now beginning to regret the smart remark he had made. It really wasn't as easy as he had thought it would be to spar with her, she went all out especially when her opponent angered her. Unfortunately for Goten, she was beyond angered and into enraged as she kicked up and struck him in his face, loosening his grasp. She took advantage of this right away, flipping him over her and to the ground. Miyako, unfortunately, didn't know how to fly, let alone levitate, and began to plummet to the ground, but she turned this to her advantage as she held out her fist and prepared to punch him when she landed. Fortunately, Goten managed to roll out of the way just in time as her fist imbedded itself into the ground. She let a short painful cry as she pulled her fist out and looked over at him just in time to duck under his leg as he kicked out at her. She jumped up, flipping in mid-air, her legs kicking him twice as she whirled back onto her feet.  
  
Trunks had just been thrown against the ground again as Hotiku jumped down at him. He was able to grab her wrists just before she grasped his head preparing to slam it back down against the floor. He planted his feet firmly on her stomach and tossed her over him and towards Goten. Hotiku, rushing rapidly upside-down towards him, saw exactly where she was heading to, but turned this in her favor.  
  
Once she reached him, she placed her hands on his shoulders and flipped herself over him and right-side up. Goten glanced at her quizzically for a moment, smiled slightly then turned his attention back to Miyako who had just kneed his stomach. Landing several feet away from Goten, Hotiku smirked at Trunks as she nodded her head knowingly at him. He growled and blurred next to her, performing a roundhouse kick. She managed to block his leg and grasped it, flipping him around and slamming him into the wall. Trunks powered up, sending her skidding across the floor a few feet away from him.  
  
"So you wanna play rough, ne?" she spat.  
  
"Isn't that what we were doing?" he raised an eyebrow   
  
"Oh no, I'm just warming up," she smirked. Trunks frowned as he attacked once again.  
  
Goten doubled over in pain as the air from his lungs was forced out of him. Miyako intertwined her fingers and brought her fists down on his back sending him crashing to the ground. As she kicked him, causing him to roll towards the others, he turned his roll into a flip and jumped to his feet. He glared at Miyako before blurring behind her and smacking the back of her head causing her to stumble forward.  
  
Trunks dropped down and swept his leg at her feet, knocking her off his feet. She rolled away before he could take advantage of her and flipped to her feet as he chased after her. Before he had a chance to react, Hotiku twisted her body around and punched him, sending him towards Miyako. As Goten charged towards her preparing to punch her, Miyako grabbed Trunks by his shoulders and swung him in front of her, using him as a human shield. Trunks let out a startled cry as Goten's first stopped centimeters away from his face. No one had time to react as Hotiku punched Trunks out of Miyako's grasp and chased after him. Goten looked at Miyako as she laughed nervously. He jumped back a few feet and cupped his hands, releasing a ki blast. Miyako yelped, barely having time to swing her arm in front of her and use her telekinesis to divert the direction of the blast.  
  
"Alright! That's it, I'm laying out all my cards!" Hotiku growled as Trunks flew up into the air. Trunks looked at her questionably as he tilted his head to the side, wondering what she meant. He knew she couldn't fly or produce ki attacks, with the exception of the three that he and Goten had shown her, but she still had trouble producing them fast enough and controlling them as well. Then it hit him, her psychic powers, but they were still developing and she had no control over them, right? Sudden realization dawned on him, as he had a flash back to her first training session where she released a controlled EMP.  
  
"Shimatte," he cursed as he realized she still had minor powers in which she could control. Before he could react, she had pulled her arms back, an invisible force could be detected as the images behind it could be seen wavering. She snapped her hands together in front of her as she sent a shockwave towards him.   
  
Miyako stopped just after retreating her fist from a punch that sent Goten to the ground as she looked over to see what was happening. Luckily, Goten had done the same and he hadn't attacked her. Trunks' body was flung towards the wall, face first. As he slowly slid down to the ground, Hotiku's aura disappeared and she collapsed to the floor as well. Miyako held her shoulder in pain from it nearly being dislocated as she looked down at Goten who was wincing. Fortunately for all of them, Vegita's face appeared on a screen as all four of them looked up at him wearily.   
  
"Training's over, come out and go rest," he stated just before it disappeared. Miyako walked over towards Hotiku as she managed to pull herself to her feet against all protest of her body and smiled slightly at her friend. They all dragged themselves towards the door, wincing in pain.  
  
"Is this how training's going to be everyday?" Miyako let out an exasperated sigh as Hotiku nodded. 


	12. Chapter 12

Unknown Realms  
  
  
  
Chapter 12- The Psychics  
  
  
  
Hotiku sat on her knees, beads of sweat forming on her forehead and rolling down her face. Her eyes were squinting, obviously concentrating on something as she kept her eyes transfixed on the object in front of her. Her hands were once resting on her lap, which were now furiously gripping the fabric of her pants.  
  
"Concentrate," spoke the soft voice.  
  
"I am…" she grumbled.  
  
"If you were, you'd be able to control it by now," she said.  
  
"Leave me alone, you can do this just fine, Mi-chan," she jabbed.  
  
"You can do this too," Miyako said, her voice the slightest bit annoyed.  
  
"No. I. Can't!" she hissed, ready to just about explode.  
  
"Tch, and you're supposed to be stronger than me in this," she grumbled. Not a second later, Hotiku's eyes narrowed at the object in front of her, which happened to be a glass with water in it, in anger. Great now she's gonna go off… she thought, placing up a mental block so Hotiku wouldn't hear her thoughts.  
  
"I'm not weak!" she shouted, shutting her eyes tightly and unintentionally sending the glass hurling towards a wall. As it shattered up against it, she snapped her eyes open to see what had happened.  
  
Miyako sat; her jaw dropped in astonishment, and then grinned. "I think I just figured out how to trigger your telekinesis."  
  
"What? How?" she looked at her, then to the glass, and then back to her again. Without saying a word, Miyako pulled her up and dragged her out of the room and towards the gravity room, which was outdoors.  
  
"Okay, now give your best shot," Miyako stood a few feet in front of her. Her stance widened as she motioned with her hand to attack her.  
  
"What? I'm not hitting you!" she looked at her in disbelief, her eyes had widened.  
  
"I knew you would say that," she frowned.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" she whined, looking at her sideways.  
  
"It means, you're too afraid to fight me," she teased.  
  
"Me afraid? I don't think so… I might hurt you," she smirked.  
  
Miyako frowned, "you hurt me? Right, you're too weak to even pull a hair off my head! Oh, and if you do, I'll kill you. "  
  
"No, I'm not!!" she yelled, fisting her hands. "Sorry, Miyako, I'm not going to hit you, so just give it up!"  
  
She sighed, "Alright, I didn't want to have to do this," she walked towards one of the main control panels, typing in a sequence of commands, "but you leave me no choice."  
  
Hotiku looked at her quizzically, not quite comprehending what she meant. Suddenly, she heard a voice behind her that sent chills running up and down her spine.  
  
"Hello, precious," spoke the male voice. She froze, hoping to Kami that it wasn't whom she thought it was. Miyako took several steps back, bracing herself for what was to come. Hotiku slowly spun around as she came face to face with a pair of emerald eyes. Taking a step back in fear, she realized who it was… Saige.  
  
The next thing Miyako knew, an extremely powerful force knocked her back into the wall. She felt as if she was being crushed as blackness started to overwhelm her. Fortunately and unfortunately, she was only able to experience this as she slipped into unconsciousness, the last image she saw being a blast of fire.  
  
~*~  
  
Bulma stumbled slightly, feeling the shockwave and hearing the explosion. She stopped in her tracks, her eyes darting around wondering what had happened. She quickly made her way downstairs where several of the guardians had gathered.  
  
"Miss Bulma, what happened?" Astria asked.  
  
"I'm not sure," she replied.  
  
"Well, we're going to find out," Goten walked hurriedly, Trunks following behind him. "It sounded as if it had come from outside, you all stay here, we're gonna go check it out," Trunks ordered. Despite the way they had started off, Zack nodded and signaled for the other guardians to cooperate and stay where they were.  
  
Trunks and Goten ran out, not exactly sure what they expected to find. But the second they got there, they both had a pretty good idea of what was going on. In the yard behind Capsule Corp, was a large pile of rubble and debris. Goten squinted, trying to make out who or what was there to cause the explosion.  
  
"Kami-sama…" he gasped, his eyes wide in shock. "It's Hotiku and Miyako!"  
  
Immediately, they both flew over to them, never expecting to find what they were about to. Miyako laid face down, her body slung over a large chunk of concrete. Hotiku was several feet away from her face up, a piece of metal imbedded into her abdomen.  
  
Trunks ran over to Hotiku, panicking the instant he saw the sliver of metal piercing through her skin. Goten kneeled down beside Miyako and rolled her over on her back, making sure she didn't have any broken bones. Luckily she didn't, but as soon as Goten touched her shoulder, she gasped in pain. Her eyes snapped open as she coughed several times; both were covered in splotches of ashes, dust and dirt.  
  
Breathing heavily, she tried to sit up realizing her shoulder was dislocated, "Hotiku, where is she?" she asked, her breathing ragged and short.  
  
Goten looked over at Trunks who had Hotiku's head resting on his lap. Miyako crawled over quickly, cutting her legs and knees on the rubble beneath her. She nearly collapsed beside them as her eyes darted back and forth, analyzing Hotiku's physical condition as she started to regain consciousness.  
  
"Trunks?" she inhaled sharply, immediately feeling the pain in her abdomen. "Oh god, what the hell is going on?" she asked, her voice wavering.  
  
"I'm going to pull this out on the count of three, okay?" Miyako kneeled next to her, Goten behind her for safety measures. Hotiku nodded, preparing herself, knowing it was going to hurt immensely.  
  
"Ready?" Goten asked her. "One," he spoke slowly.  
  
"Two!" Miyako said rapidly, and pulled out the shard as quickly as she could. Hotiku cried out in misery, her body arching back. The pain was almost unbearable, but she knew she had to bear the agony or she wouldn't survive.  
  
"Oh god," she sobbed, tears rolling down her cheeks. Trunks placed his hand on her deep wound, trying to stop the blood from flowing as he quietly consoled her, rubbing her forehead with his thumb as his fingers brushed back her bangs.  
  
"We have to get her to the medical wing," she ordered, "hurry, she won't survive for long."  
  
Trunks nodded standing up and holding Hotiku in his arms, careful not to interfere with the metal shard. Miyako started to get up, stumbling a bit. She nearly fell only to have Goten catch her.  
  
"I gotcha," he whispered, picking her up. As she held on to him tightly, they were all inside and had past the guardians in the blink of an eye. However, Zack and Transwarp had barely managed to catch a glimpse of them and were now pursuing them at top speed, leaving the others in bewilderment.  
  
Trunks carefully set her down on a hospital bed, as the pain slowly began to subside as well as her tears.  
  
"What happened to her?" Transwarp asked from behind them.  
  
"Not now," Miyako said, catching her breath, "Zack, my arm it's dislocated."  
  
Zack walked up to her, lightly touching her shoulder; still she winced. "This is gonna hurt," he informed her.  
  
"Just do it," she breathed. Zack grabbed her arm and snapped it back into place earning a small cry from her.  
  
"Better?"  
  
"Hai," she nodded and walked back over to Hotiku. "I have to dress her wound, guys could you leave the room for now?"  
  
Receiving nods all around, they all left Miyako to clean the large wound, waiting impatiently outside the room for any news.  
  
"I'm sorry, honey," she apologized, "I was just trying to make you psychically stronger."  
  
Hotiku smiled, "good job."  
  
"Huh?" she looked at her confused, picking up a bandage roll.   
  
"Miyako, it worked," she laughed slightly as the bandage floated over to her and wrapped itself around her wound as she sat up.  
  
"It worked?" she looked at her dumbfounded, still watching as Hotiku dressed her wound by herself, telekinetically. "It worked!"  
  
Hotiku hopped off the bed, and adjusted her shirt, "yup, oh and I'm so glad too! I can't believe I forgot what it was like to use these powers!"  
  
"Isn't it awesome?" Miyako giggled receiving a nod from her.  
  
"Are you guys done yet?" someone pounded on the door, most likely Zack. Hotiku smirked and waved her hand, opening the door psychically. The four males stood there uncomfortably, not knowing how the door opened by itself.  
  
"Uh… how did that happen?" Goten asked.  
  
"Silly, Goten," Miyako laughed, "so naïve."  
  
"Hey, what do you mean by that?" he asked.  
  
"Just shut up," Hotiku said simply and placed a hand on his chest, pushing him back and out of her way.  
  
"Hold it right there!" Transwarp ordered. Hotiku rolled her eyes, but stopped and spun around.  
  
"Hai?" she asked sweetly.  
  
"What's going on?" he demanded.  
  
"Oh, nothing really… only I can do this now," she waved her finger, knocking the red cap on his head off.  
  
"Hey!" he growled, picking up his hat and walking away.  
  
She stuck her tongue out at him and spun on her heel preparing to walk away.  
  
"Don't move," Zack said. Letting out an infuriated sigh, Hotiku yet again spun around, although not so sweetly, more arrogantly.  
  
"What now?" she raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Since when can you use your powers?"  
  
"Since I said so," she crossed her arms.  
  
"Hotiku," he warned her psychically, in their terms that meant sending a small jolt to them through their psychic connection.  
  
"Ow!" she jumped slightly. "Geez, what crawled up your pants?"  
  
Zack's left eye twitched as he sent another jolt, this time he accidentally shocked Miyako as well.  
  
"Ow!" they both jumped. Glaring at him, they both sent warnings to him.  
  
"Ow, that hurt!" he whined.  
  
"Well, duh, that's cause we both sent one, duffus!" Miyako sneered only to receive another jolt. "Hey!"  
  
As expected, this turned into an all out jolt war. Meanwhile, Goten and Trunks were standing, sweatdrops on the side of their heads.  
  
"Alright, enough!" Trunks shouted causing all three of them to stop and look at him.  
  
"They started it!" They all shouted, pointing to each other.  
  
"Started what?!" Goten and Trunks both asked.  
  
"He warned me! He sent a freakin jolt through telepathy!" Hotiku accused Zack.  
  
"Oh, so now it's my fault!?" The uproar of an argument started to emerge again.  
  
"Is it going to be like this all the time?" Trunks asked Goten who shrugged his shoulders.  
  
"Well, I'm leaving," Hotiku said haughtily, spinning around and walking away. This time, no one tried to stop her, as she turned the corner and disappeared down the hall.  
  
"Meanie," Miyako muttered at Zack, sending him one last jolt.  
  
  
  
~*~  
  
Hotiku walked towards the spiral staircase and noticed something on the ground in front of it. She slowed down as she realized it was a body covered in blood. Gasping as she recognized it as Zack's, she kneeled down beside him and placed her hands on either of his shoulders. She leaned forward, tilting her head, to listen for a heartbeat or breathing. Suddenly, he snapped his hands up and wrapped them around her throat.  
  
"Miyako," she tried to yell, gasping for breath as she pushed at his chest, "help me! Miyako!"   
  
"You killed us, Casaretta," he said hoarsely. Hotiku clawed at his hands trying to release his grasp and pounded on his chest. A large hole appeared underneath him on the floor, his body falling through it. She had just enough time to push back off him before she too fell into the hole.  
  
Coughing and gasping, she pulled herself to her feet and ran up the stairs, stumbling occasionally. She ran through the hallways in search of someone to help her or to even explain to her what was going on. She ran into a pitch-black room and stopped in what seemed to be the center of it. She stopped as the door slammed shut behind her. She tried to pry it open, but it was obviously stuck. Taking several steps back, she bumped into something. She spun around and tried to see through the darkness to identify what it was.  
  
"You've come back to me, Precious," she heard a voice behind her. Hotiku let out a startled gasp as she snapped around. Suddenly, the lights turned on, blinding her for a few moments. As soon as her eyes adjusted, she screamed out in terror and disgust, throwing her hands over her mouth and nose. All around her were the bodies of her friends, all hung by the neck and pale.  
  
Incredibly pale, was all she could register in her thoughts. Not wasting a second she ran to the door and forced it open, running out and up to the roof of the building. Stopping, inches away from the edge, she spun around as she sensed a presence behind her. Another terrified scream emitted from her lips as she saw the figure before her.  
  
"You're mine now, Precious," he spoke.  
  
"S-saige?" she whimpered.  
  
"Stay away from her," another male voice spoke. Trunks jumped in front of her, as if protecting her from him. His body was covered in cuts and bruises. His clothes, but rags and his hair a tangled mess.  
  
"T-trunks?" she looked at him, assuming he had fought against Saige and was obviously losing seeing as he didn't have a scratch on him.  
  
He must've attacked the others as well, she thought, tears rolling down her cheeks.  
  
"Don't make me laugh. You, protect her?" Saige laughed mockingly.  
  
"I'll fight for her to the end!" he roared as he charged at him, only to have Saige fire a ki blast at him, burning a hole through his chest and sending him flying off the side of the building next to Hotiku.  
  
"No!" she watched in horror as his limp body fell and hit the ground with a sickening thud. She spun around and looked at Saige, "Bakayarou!"  
  
"Such harsh words from a pr-"  
  
"Shut up! How did you find out?" she spat at him.  
  
"It wasn't that hard. I can read your mind for Kami's sake," he smirked as she gasped, using his telekinesis to pull her body towards him.  
  
"This isn't real, it's a dream," she hissed, "you don't know about that and you don't know who Kami is either! None of the guardians did!"   
  
"Oh, I assure you this is very real," he smirked as he held her by her shoulders.  
  
"Liar… you're a damn liar!" she said through clenched teeth. He abruptly grasped her left wrist and twisted it around behind her back.  
  
"Come now, play nice," he sneered.  
  
"Let go of me," she winced at his grip.  
  
  
  
"Don't resist me, Precious," he whispered in her ear before spinning her around again.  
  
"I'll always resist y-" she was cut off as he pressed his lips to hers'.  
  
~*~  
  
Hotiku jumped up, screaming, realizing she was in bed and that it had been a dream. Breathing heavily, she slipped her legs over the side of her bed and threw her hands in her face, leaning forward. She leaned back and ran her hands through her hair as Trunks ran into the room.  
  
"Hotti? What happened, are you okay?" he asked her, sitting down beside her as she looked up at him wearily.  
  
"God, Trunks, I'm so scared," she threw herself into his arms, clutching the back of his shirt fearing he would disappear if she let go. "I'm so scared of him, he's coming after me and I don't think I'm strong enough to oppose him."  
  
"Hotiku, no matter what happens, I'll protect you 'til the end," he whispered, stroking her hair.  
  
She snapped her body back, "No!"  
  
"What?" he looked down at her quizzically.  
  
"Don't, Trunks, please don't say that!"  
  
"Nani? Why?" he asked.  
  
"Promise me you won't put your life in danger just to save mine! That's what guardians do for the royalty! You're not a guardian and I'm not royalty!" she shouted.  
  
"But, Hotiku," he smiled lightly, cupping her chin with his fingers, "you're a princess to me."  
  
Hotiku smiled up at him, but it disappeared again, "promise me."  
  
"Iie," he said softly before getting up and walking towards the door. "I'm not letting him take you from me, I never will."  
  
"Trunks!" she cried out to him, only to have him close the door behind him. She let out a frustrated sigh and crossed her arms, flopping down on her bed.  
  
Mi-chan, I have to talk to you… tell you something important that could change everything…  
  
  
  
~*~  
  
"You're the what?!" Miyako yelled, ringing in Hotiku's ears.  
  
"You heard me," she raised an eyebrow.  
  
"But you're… and the whole time… guardians…" Miyako stammered. "Why didn't you tell me!?"  
  
"What, like I'm gonna come out and say, hey everyone, oh by the way, I'm the pr-" Miyako slapped a hand over her mouth.  
  
"Don't say it! Someone could hear you!" She warned. After a moment of thought, Miyako's face twisted in confusion. "Wait, how come I don't remember?"  
  
"Because, remember last year, when we were 14 on Toria-sei?" she asked, pushing her hands away from her face.  
  
"Hai," she nodded her head.  
  
"Well, I was still the, you know, and that's why I went there. I ran away from the guardians and stole a space pod, and erased everyone's memories of it."  
  
"But, where did you go?" she asked.  
  
"I took me about a year to get to Earth. The space pod I was in, it was low rate and it burned up when I came into the atmosphere of Earth," she explained.  
  
"Yeah, then what?"  
  
"Well, the disillusionment wasn't as bad, and I still had most of my powers. So I teleported the hell out of there and crashed landed in some forest. But the strange thing was, I thought you were there with me," she knitted her eyebrows together in confusion.  
  
"Sorry, Hotti, but I don't remember any of that," she shook her head, "but for some reason I remember someone called Trinity, she kept calling me Veronica."  
  
Hotiku's eyes widened, "Mi-chan, I remember a Veronica… she called me Trinity, but it felt like a dream!"  
  
"Wait a minute, if you're the 'priestess'," Miyako started, making up a code name to replace the actual word, "then that means you have that other power, you know the one that the… uh person had!"  
  
"You mean the power to-"  
  
"Yeah!"  
  
"Oh shit! So that's what that stupid disillusionment is!"  
  
"Uh-oh…" Miyako produced a nervous expression.  
  
"What?"  
  
"If you're the 'priestess' that means you're," she stopped, and slapped Hotiku's arm.  
  
"Ow! What was that for?" she glared at her.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me you were saiya-jin?!" 


	13. Chapter 13

Unknown Realms  
  
Chapter 13- Keeping Secrets  
  
  
Zack and Blade had just finished giving specific instructions to the guardians, save Miyako and Hotiku who were nowhere to be found. They were depressing and probably the hardest orders they'd have to obey, but they accepted. Unbeknownst to them, they had snuck out, courtesy of Hotiku, after her shift at the restaurant had ended, and were now walking down a boardwalk trying to let all the new information sink in.  
  
"I still can't believe you didn't tell me," Miyako said quietly, "you tell me  
everything!"  
  
"Mi-chan I'm sorry, but you know I couldn't just come out and tell you, or  
anyone for that matter," she replied.  
  
"Yeah, but what I don't get is how come I couldn't just read your thoughts or reach into your mind and at least see images?" she asked looking over at her as they bought a couple bottles of water.  
  
"Because I made myself forget, I mean, even I barely remembered until I had that dream."  
  
"What dream?" Miyako asked taking a sip of her water.  
  
"Yesterday, before I called you, I had this... nightmare," she said, a distant look glimmering in her eyes as she tried to recall the events. Miyako looked at her intently, listening and worrying at the same time in case she would disillusion. As Hotiku explained the dream, Miyako's mind went into her own train of thought.  
  
"And then he said that he knew I was the... 'Priestess' because he could read my mind and--"  
  
"Hold on, he said what?! Oh, damn!" Miyako stopped dead in her tracks.  
  
"What? What's wrong?" Hotiku looked at her frantically.  
  
"Quick, put up a mental block to Zack," she ordered. Hotiku obeyed, not questioning her, and knowing that she knew what she was doing.  
  
"Done, now tell me why I just did that?"  
  
"Knock, knock," she rapped her knuckles on Hotiku's forehead, "he could have read our thoughts about this whole thing!"  
  
"Shit... but you don't he already knows, do you?" she asked nervously.  
  
"I doubt it," she shook her head, "or else he would've been here right now and freaking out trying to protect you."  
  
"Miyako, we'd better get back, they'll be wondering where we are," Hotiku looked down at her watch. Miyako nodded and followed her as they walked back into Capsule Corp. They were immediately met with a bundle of clothes, buckets, and sponges.  
  
"Ow, what's this?" Miyako fingered the clothes.  
  
"You two are going to help wash the car," Bulma said.  
  
"What car?" Hotiku raised an eyebrow.  
  
"There's a car?" Miyako asked.  
  
"Trunks' car," she replied. The girls started walking up the stair to change into the clothing, well, rags.  
  
"Trunks has a car?"  
  
~*~  
  
"I look like a hillbilly!" Miyako cried as Hotiku dragged her out of the house. She was wearing a pair of jean overalls and a cotton jersey.  
  
"You look fine! I'm going to live with what I'm wearing, so you can too!" Hotiku growled as she pointed down to her own outfit. It was a pair of blue shorts and a spaghetti strap.  
  
"Hey, you got the good outfit, " she whined.  
  
"Are you guys going to stand there all day, or help us?" Trunks crossed his arms and leaned against the black car.  
  
"Whoa," Goten stared at them, "you guys switched clothes!" Hotiku let out a scoff before placing him in a headlock.  
  
"Ow! Let go!" he struggled.  
  
"No," Hotiku teased.  
  
"Why not?" he whined, still struggling in her grasp.  
  
"Because, I don't feel like it!"  
  
"Fine be that way," Goten growled and brought his leg around, sweeping her off her feet. He grabbed her by her waist and swung her over his shoulder.  
  
"Whoa! Hey, put me down!" she laughed.  
  
"Whatever you say," he snickered, dropping her like a sack of potatoes into the backseat of the convertible. As she let out a startled cry the three broke out into fits of giggles.  
  
"Alright, let's wash this car already," she complained.  
  
"Party pooper," Miyako snickered.  
  
"Whatever," she grumbled and pushed herself out of the car.  
  
"Okay, let's get to work cleaning my car," Trunks gleamed.  
  
"Oh, shut up!" They all hissed. Trunks dropped his jaw for a split second before his lips turned into a frown.  
  
"Ew!" Miyako cried. They all turned around to see what was wrong. "I have to touch this?" she poked at a sponge floating in the bucket of soapy water. Simultaneous sweat drops all around.  
  
As they started to wash the car, Miyako and Goten were both heading towards the front of the car when they started washing the same spot.  
  
"Hey, this is my side!" Miyako whined.  
  
"Is not!" Goten challenged.  
  
"Is too!"  
  
"Is not!" he threw a small sponge at her.  
  
"Hey!" she cried and snapped a wet rag at his leg. He let out a yelp and jumped at least three feet into the air. He retaliated by throwing another sponge at her, but she dove out of the way, causing the sponge to hit Hotiku.  
  
"Watch it!" she dunked her sponge into the water spraying them. Needless to say, this immediately turned into a free-for-all water fight.  
  
"You are so dead!" Hotiku chased after Trunks. He stopped in his tracks and spun around, causing Hotiku to crash into him. He bent down and grabbed her legs from under her.  
  
"Ah!" she screamed as he swung her up into his arms, "put me down!" He didn't respond, but laughed.  
  
Miyako poured a bucket full of soapy water on Goten who cried out in shock, and the fact that it was freezing cold didn't help much.  
  
"It's c-c-cold!" he stammered as Miyako laughed at his misfortune.  
  
"Oh, get over it," she teased.  
  
Hotiku telekinetically pulled the water hose over to herself. She grasped the nozzle and held it at Trunks face like a gun.  
  
"Hotti," he gulped, "put it down."  
  
"Me first," she said threateningly. Trunks noticed she still had one arm around his neck, holding herself up.  
  
"The water's not on, you can't spray me," he stated firmly as he looked over at the water main. Suddenly, the knob turned, making a squeaking sound in the process.  
  
"It is now," she smirked.  
  
"Hey, guys?" Miyako smiled, holding up an empty bucket. "We're going to go fill these up, be right back, okay?"  
  
"Take your time," she replied sinisterly. As soon as they had left, Hotiku squirted Trunks with the hose.  
  
"Ah! Hey!" he nearly dropped her, but placed her down gently.  
  
"Told you I'd do it," she snickered and leaned against the car, dropping the hose. "Now tell me why you have a car."  
  
"I don't know, Mom just bought if for me one day, can't drive it yet though," he shrugged, wiping his face off.  
  
"Right, so let's take a look under the top, shall we?" she walked over to the front of the car, which had been rinsed off in the water fight.  
  
"What do you mean?" he looked at her confused. She popped open the hood and leaned in to get a better look.  
  
"Wow," she blinked.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You seriously need an oil change and a new spark plug," she stated, looking around, "and someone really has to work on that transmission."  
  
"Whoa, how do you know all this?" he asked her. Hotiku opened her mouth to say something, but quickly stopped herself as she pulled herself out of the engine and shut the hood.  
  
"I... I don't know..." she blinked in confusion.  
  
"Are you okay?" he looked at her worriedly.  
  
She swept her hands over her face as she leaned against the car again, "Trunks, I don't know what's happening to me."  
  
"Hotti, what are you talking about? You're fine," he reassured her.  
  
"No," she stated, "I'm not, I've been having these nightmares."  
  
"What kind of nightmares?" he took a step towards her.  
  
"Everyone being killed by Saige and me not being strong enough to take him on," she said, her voice starting to waver, "Trunks, if anything happens to them, it's going to be my fault. It's all my fault," she inhaled sharply. Trunks gently held her shoulders as she clenched her teeth.  
  
"Hotiku, what's wrong with you?" he whispered.  
  
"Ever since Saige's attacks on me and constant pursuing... I've never been able to let anyone get close to me. I'm..." she started.  
  
"What?" he whispered, as she looked down.  
  
"Afraid, of him, of what could happen if I let someone in, of what could happen to the person because of me, but most of all, the pain," she sighed. Trunks leaned in, stroking her cheek. "Trunks... I can't," she whispered.  
  
"Hotiku, I won't hurt you," he reassured her. She slowly felt the soft brush of his lips against hers until she pulled back.  
  
"I'm late for dance," she whispered an excuse and walked back into the house. Trunks let out an exasperated sigh and ran a hand through his hair.  
  
"Okay, we're back with more water!" Goten and Miyako walked back from around the side of the house, both soaking wet.  
  
~*~  
  
"Can you still do that thing that you used to do?" Miyako asked. The two of them were now in the locker room of the dance studio, Hotiku in her leotard.  
  
"What thing?" she raised an eyebrow.  
  
"You know, the thing?" she hinted.  
  
"Oh, that thing! Yeah, see," Hotiku turned around and performed a double axle, but landed in a split.  
  
"Yay! That was so cute!" Miyako clapped.  
  
"Five minutes, Hotti," they heard a female voice.  
  
"Alright, Sasha, I'm coming," Hotiku called back.  
  
"I'm going to watch from the side and cheer for you," Miyako stated, giggling.  
  
Hotiku laughed, "Mi-chan, I don't need a cheerleader!"  
  
"But I want to," she pouted.  
  
Hotiku sighed, "alright." As much as she was going to embarrass her, she still let her have her own way. At least she's back to her old self and not the worry freak she was half an hour ago, she thought. Hotiku was relieved that she was finally able to tell someone her secret, but now she had to deal with being given extra attention and treated specially, which she hated. Although, she was glad she told Miyako instead of Zack, he would have been ten times as worse.  
  
"Mi-chan, you can go site over there, this won't take long. Just this one part of a routine," Hotiku explained.  
  
"Okey dokey," she hopped down on a chair that was up against the wall.  
  
Hotiku walked up to the stage and sat down to stretch out her limbs and muscles.  
  
"Hotti, we've set the swing and bars, you ready to try it?" Sasha asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'm supposed to jump up, swing and land on the bars right?"  
  
"Hai, let's give it a go!" she smiled. Hotiku pulled herself to her feet and back up to up-center stage. As she ran towards the end of the stage, she prepared herself to jump.  
  
"H-O-T-T-I, let's go Hotti! You can do it, put your back into it!" Miyako cheered, causing her to screech to a halt and barely escape falling off stage.  
  
"Mi-chan!" she yelled.  
  
"Nani?"  
  
"I have to concentrate!" she scolded.  
  
  
"Oops, sorry, Hotti!"  
  
Sighing, Hotiku returned to her start point. As soon as she jumped off stage, the crewmen dropped the swing so she could grab onto it. Using her momentum, she let go of the swing and managed to drop down, grasping the bar. She swung herself up and balanced herself on the bar.  
  
"Yes, you did it!" Miyako laughed. Hotiku snapped up a finger, signaling her to be silent, quieting her immediately. She performed a few tricks before pushing herself off and grasping the swing, which had returned to her, and landed back onstage.  
  
Hotiku let out a relieved sigh, she hadn't noticed, but she had been holding her breath the entire time.  
  
"Alright, that was perfect, let us just secure everything and we'll run it again," Sasha smiled. Hotiku nodded as she tried to catch her breathe.  
  
"Wow, that took a lot out of me, must've been the adrenaline," she figured.  
  
"Okay, ready?" Sasha asked, receiving a nod of recognition. Unfortunately, this time, when she grabbed the swing handle, the cord broke and her momentum sent her to the ground. She was able to grab onto the bar on which she was supposed to land.  
  
"Hotiku!" Miyako looked up in fear.  
  
"Someone hurry! The bar's been waxed," she cried out, trying to hold her grip. She finally couldn't hold onto the slippery surface any longer and plummeted to the ground. She let out a horrified scream as she awaited the impact that was to come.  
  
"Huh?' Hotiku peeked an eye open when she didn't feel anything. She looked around to see that she was wrapped in TJ's arms.  
"You okay?" he asked.  
  
"Um, yeah, thanks," she mumbled, still shocked. Miyako ran over as quickly as she could, when she came upon the scene.  
  
"Whoa, Hotti," she eyed T.J., "you scored!"  
  
"What?!" Hotiku screeched and jumped out of TJ's grasp. "No way, I don't date!"  
  
"Why?" Miyako looked at her quizzically.  
  
"Because, all the stress and… it's just too much trouble," she crossed her arms.  
  
"I bet you didn't have any protest to dating with the hot guys in To-"  
  
Hotiku slapped a hand over her mouth, "are we going to test run again?" She quickly changed the subject.  
  
"No, the cord is completely torn," the stage manager sighed, "we'll have to get a new one. You can go home now."  
  
"Alright, thanks," Hotiku dragged Miyako back to the locker room. "Are you crazy?!" She asked while changing.  
  
"What?" she asked innocently.  
  
"You almost gave us away," she finished adjusting her shirt and placed a hand on her hip.  
  
"I did not!" she followed her out of the studio.  
  
"Oh yeah?" she challenged, "then what were you going to say?"  
  
"To-… Tokyo?" she smiled sweetly.  
  
"Okay," Hotiku said, still not believing her. "They are so teaching me to fly!"  
  
As they walked through the front door of Capsule Corps. Zack immediately pulled Miyako to the side as Hotiku continued in search of Trunks or Goten.  
  
"What's going on?" she asked haughtily.  
  
"Miyako, we're leaving," he said.  
  
"What do you mean, leaving?" she asked.  
  
"Orders, you know we can't stay together especially with Hotiku, we'll give away her location," he explained.  
  
"Zack something tells me this is another one of your tests for her," she raised an eyebrow.  
  
"I'll explain everything to you later, we have to leave now," he demanded.  
  
~*~  
  
"Trunks!" Hotiku yelled as she approached him. He spun around just as she placed a hand on his chest and shoved him down on the grass.  
  
"I swear to Kami, I didn't do it," he said nervously.  
  
"Exactly!" she sat in front of him on her knees, leaning on her hands.  
  
"What? Okay now you lost me," he raised an eyebrow.  
  
"You haven't taught me to fly," she said slowly.  
  
"But, Hotti, I didn't think you wanted to know," he backed up a little.  
  
"Why wouldn't I?" she crawled closer to him.  
  
"Because you never asked," he said simply. Hotiku let out a frustrated growl and launched herself onto him.  
  
"You are going to teach me to fly and you're going to teach me good, got it?" she raised an eyebrow as he nodded his head slowly. "Good," she smiled and stood up, "so how do we start?"  
  
"First like this," he abruptly picked her up and shot up into the sky.  
  
"Kami! What are you trying to do, give me a heart attack!?" she held onto him desperately.  
  
"Maybe," he chuckled.  
  
"Just shut up and teach," she glared at him.  
  
"Right, so you already know how to control ki, so just concentrate that power to propel you through the air," he explained simply.  
  
"Wait, so you want me to shoot ki blasts from my feet?" she asked confused.  
  
"Ugh, no," he slapped his forehead.  
  
"Relax, I know what you mean," she winked at him before looking down towards the ground. "You're not going to drop me are you?"  
  
"Now there's an idea," he joked.  
  
"Hey," she slapped his arm and pushed off him, not realizing that she was hovering in the air. "Are you always this sarcastic?"  
  
"Are you always this fast a learner?" he asked, looking down at her feet, which were several feet above the ground. Hotiku looked down and panicked, causing her to fall out of the sky. She screamed out in shock as she forced her eyes shut and waited for the impact. After a few moments, she peeked an eye open when she didn't feel anything.  
  
"Am I dead?" she asked stupidly.  
  
"Not yet," Trunks laughed.  
  
"Hey, it's not funny!" she jumped out of his arms.  
  
"Sorry," he stifled his chuckles.  
  
~*~  
  
"Miyako, we have to leave now!" Zack whispered harshly.  
  
"Wait, wait," she cried desperately as she ran into Hotiku's room and left an envelope on her dresser.  
  
"You know she'll be able to do it," he said, "now we have to get out of here."  
  
"I'm coming," she sighed and followed him out of Capsule Corp. As they teleported away in different directions, they had time to share one last good-bye as they severed the telepathic link from each other.  
  
~*~  
  
Hotiku gasped as she supported herself on Trunks' shoulder.  
  
"Are you okay?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, just a dizzy spell," she breathed.  
  
"Hm, I think that's enough for today, you've got a pretty good hang of it," he said as they walked back into the building.  
  
"Thanks, I'm going to go take a shower," she said as she walked up the stair to her room. Hotiku walked into her bathroom and jumped into the shower, noticing that she had large bruises on her knees. "Probably from my landing after I fell from flying," she thought. As she powered up to dry herself off, she put on a pair of loose gray pants and a white shirt.  
  
She walked towards her dresser to grab her brush and combed her hair. A small envelope caught her eye and she placed her brush down and opened the envelope. She sat on the edge of her bed as she read.  
  
Hotiku,  
  
We've left… all of us, sorry hunnie, orders. Another one of 'Zack's' tests, if you can find us before Saige arrives, the ones you've found will help in the battle against him. Those you don't, you'll most likely not see again for a while. Sorry, but it has to be this way. I wish there was another way, but there isn't. Zack and I have severed the telepathic link among us, you probably had a dizzy spell when we did this. We've all changed our appearances too, we suggest you do the same. And you won't be able to search for our ki either, I've developed a device to block that. Hope to see you soon, really…  
  
Love,  
Miyako.  
  
Trunks walked by Hotiku's door and looked in at her. Detecting something was amiss he walked inside.  
  
"Hotti, what's wrong?" he looked at her.  
  
"They're gone…" she whispered.  
  
"Who are?"  
  
"All of them," she slowly handed him the note. He quickly read over it before looking back at her. "Trunks, I can't do this, not alone. What if I don't find them in time? I'll never see them again, and Saige will beat us, he'll probably kill us."  
  
"Hotiku, you're not alone, and you will find them. Even if you don't, we'll still fight Saige… and win," he comforted her.  
  
"But I'm so scared," she whispered. Trunks wrapped his arms around her. "Before I at least had them to back me up, but now I have no one to fight with."  
  
"You have me," he whispered.  
  
"But you don't know how Saige is, he'll kill you," she choked back a sob.  
  
"If I have to die protecting you then I will, I won't let him win," he said.  
  
"Trunks, I told you, you're not a guardian and I'm not royalty."  
  
"And I told you, you're my princess," he kissed her forehead.  
  
Hotiku sighed, "you're so stubborn," and leaned against his chest as sleep started to take over her. Trunks kissed her one last time before joining her asleep. 


	14. Chapter 14

Unknown Realms  
  
Chapter 14: Revolutions  
  
Hotiku curled the last lock of hair and pulled the plug out of the curling iron. She walked out of her bathroom and opened her closet. She slipped on a pair of green cargo pants and a black muscle shirt. She walked over to her dresser and picked up her silver locket and slid it on her neck. She adjusted the chain until the hook was in the back.  
  
"Where are they?" she reached under her bed and patted around looking for her shoes. "Gotcha," she felt them and pulled out the sneakers, shoving her feet into them. She went back to her dresser and opened a small case with a pair of contacts inside. She tilted her head up and held one contact in a finger. After placing it on her eye, she picked up the other one.  
  
"Hotiku?" Trunks abruptly knocked on the door, causing Hotiku to drop the contact.  
  
"Shit! Trunks don't do that! I dropped my contact!" she yelled through the door as she picked it up and cleaned it.  
  
"Since when do you have contacts?"  
  
"Since I said so," she said haughtily. Trunks opened the door to see her looking in the mirror and adjusting the contact.  
  
"You're hair." he started.  
  
"What?" she turned around to look at him.  
  
"It's. you're a brunette now," he blinked.  
  
"What, you don't like it?" she snickered and walked towards her bed and picked up her shoulder bag.  
  
"It's different," he stated.  
  
Hotiku walked past him, "whatever."  
  
"Hey, your eyes are blue!"  
  
"So are yours!" she hopped down the stairs, "now enough of this, let's go already, we haven't be to school in awhile, people will be wondering."  
  
"Wondering what?" was the last thing heard as the door slammed shut.  
  
~*~  
  
"Hey, where've you guys been?!" someone yelled.  
  
"Around," Hotiku answered.  
  
"Hey, your hair looks great!"  
  
"Thanks, some people like it," she stuck her tongue out at Trunks.  
  
"What?" he shrugged.  
  
"Weren't your eyes green before?" Goten asked.  
  
"Yeah," Hotiku answered simply.  
  
"Did you use your pow-" he started.  
  
"Shut up," she slapped a hand over his mouth. "No, I didn't, they're contacts," she answered his would-be question. Hotiku looked around, no one seemed to have heard anything as the room was a pandemonium. She removed her hand from his mouth and wiped it on her pants.  
  
"Gross." she joked. "Hey, I'm open!" She yelled across the room as someone threw her a football.  
  
"Over here, Hotti!" one of her friends cried. She threw the ball just a little too hard and it ended up hurling towards the door, which was now opening.  
  
"Class," the teacher said as she entered, narrowly missing the ball. She picked it up, "who threw this?"  
  
"Me," Hotiku shrugged.  
  
"Hotiku, how many times do I have to tell you?"  
  
"No throwing balls in the classroom," they both said, Hotiku mocking her. The teacher let out an exasperated sigh and placed the ball in a closet that contained several other entertainment devices.  
  
"Take your seats, everyone," the teacher ordered and everyone did so for a short moment.  
  
"I wonder what I'm going to dream about today," someone cracked.  
  
"Class, we have a new student," she announced.  
  
"Score!" Hotiku and Goten shared high-five.  
  
"Would you please come in?" she signaled for the student to enter. As he did, they quickly noticed that he had black raven hair and pale blue eyes. He had on a white wife-beater and navy cargo pants. There was something odd about him, Hotiku thought absentmindedly, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She felt as if she had some kind of connection with him, but she ignored the sense and gave it no further thought.  
  
"Alright, fresh meat," Hotiku rubbed her hands together as she and many other of her friends thought of pranks to pull on him.  
  
"Thank you, sensei, you're very kind," he complimented.  
  
"Hey, newbie, you've got something on your nose!"  
  
"Yeah something brown!"  
  
"Brown nose," several students chanted.  
  
"Class, please remain quiet!" the teacher cried out, her voice slightly hoarse. Apparently she'd been yelling at them for quite a while and constantly as well.  
  
"Hey, we were only quiet for the newbie, now it's time to have some fun!" Hotiku laughed as they all stood. Someone flipped on a radio as they listened to some music. Several started dancing while others spoke the lyrics along with the artist.  
  
"Well, as you can see, this class is. interesting."  
  
~*~  
  
Hotiku shoved her books into her locker as she struggled to pull out her cd player. Once she had dropped it into her bag, she grabbed the door of her locker and quickly slammed it shut and leaned against it as she locked it. She let out a relieved sigh and took a step to walk away only to find that she couldn't.  
  
"What the." she looked back to see that a corner of her shirt had gotten caught in the locker. "That's just perfect," she muttered and looked around to see if anyone was glancing her way. As she saw that no one was looking, she used her powers to slip her hand through and pull out the corner of her shirt.  
  
"Hey," someone said behind her. Hotiku jumped and gasped as she spun around to see that it was the new kid.  
  
"Newbie, you scared me half to death, you know if you want to pull more stunts like that you should really see the pool on the third floor," she smirked.  
  
"This school has a pool?"  
  
"Yeah, specially reserved for swimmers who train for the Olympics," she lied, "but I bet you could see it if you get there in the next ten minutes, that's when their practice starts."  
  
"Really? That's so cool!" he said and started to walk up the stairs.  
  
"Sucker," she snickered and walked out of the school. Trunks came up behind her and poked her sides causing her to jump and let out a startled yelp. "Trunks, quit it!" she giggled.  
  
"You're so ticklish," he laughed.  
  
"At least I'm not so gullible like that newbie," she chuckled.  
  
"Don't tell me he believed that Olympic pool prank?" he asked only to have Hotiku nod her head in response. "Kami, what an idiot!"  
  
"Yeah, he probably got locked up there too!" she laughed. "I have to go to work, I'll see you later."  
  
"All right, but remember Dad wants us to train today," he sighed.  
  
"Right, bye," she waved as she walked towards the restaurant. Once she arrived, she walked into the back and put on her roller blades and apron. As she skated out, she grabbed a small notepad and pen to write down orders.  
  
"Would you like something to drink?" she asked a young girl with black hair and gray eyes.  
  
"Mm, cappuccino," she decided.  
  
"Okay, be right back," Hotiku skated away. The girl pulled out a black cell phone and pushed a button on speed dial.  
  
"Zack, she's here," she spoke, "where are you?"  
  
"I'm on my way over, I got locked on the roof of the school," he said as he walked down the street in a hurry.  
  
"What do you mean you got locked on the roof?" she whispered harshly. Hotiku came back with her drink and set it down for her.  
  
"Anything else?" she asked. The girl just smiled and shook her head. "Okay," Hotiku smiled back and left.  
  
"Hotiku pulled a prank on me," he said.  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"She said there was a pool on the third floor," he replied.  
  
"And you believed her?" she stifled her laughter.  
  
"No, but I had to act like I did," he said.  
  
"Sure," she rolled her eyes and took a sip.  
  
"Miyako, I'm serious, now just keep an eye on her while I get there," Zack said.  
  
"Right, well, I'm going to enjoy my cappuccino, and relax," she laughed and hung up, keeping and eye on Hotiku.  
  
~*~  
  
Hotiku let out a scream, "are you serious!?"  
  
"Yes, what's the big deal?" Trunks asked.  
  
"Big deal? I haven't been to any kind of ball since I was on Toria-sei! I didn't like them then, and I don't like them now!"  
  
"Oh, come on, Hotti! It'll be fun!"  
  
"No! No, it won't, people will be staring at me and saying stuff like 'oh doesn't that girl look funny in a dress'! Which, by the way, I will not be wearing!"  
  
"Please? Do this for me? My mom is making me go, don't think I want to too, but I have to and I'm not going by myself!" he explained. Hotiku turned on her heel and walked away not even bothering to respond. She walked towards the gravity room and opened the door where she changed into her favorite training suit. As she walked back out to a chamber she raised her hands above her head to stretch.  
  
"Come on, Hotti!" a voice said from behind her causing her to yelp and jump.  
  
"Don't do that!" she slapped her hands at his chest.  
  
"Hotiku, come on, stop being so stubborn!" he whined.  
  
"Alright!"  
  
"Yes," he said excited.  
  
"But, only if you can beat me in a match," she smirked.  
  
"What?! Fine," he grumbled and changed into a training suit.  
  
"You look cute in that," she winked at him.  
  
"Yeah, yeah. let's get this over with."  
  
~*~  
  
Trunks reached a hand down to help Hotiku up. She breathed heavily and grabbed his arm, pulling herself up.  
  
"Looks like you're coming to the ball with me," he grinned.  
  
"Ugh. right," she muttered and started to walk away only to have Trunks walk beside her and support her as he noticed she was slightly limping.  
  
"You okay?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, my knees just hurt," she said and rested her head on his shoulder.  
  
"Want to fly?" he smirked.  
  
She chuckled, "only if you promise to catch me if I fall."  
  
"I promise," he said as he started to levitate and held her hands as she slowly wobbled off the ground. "See, you're not going to fall!"  
  
Hotiku glanced at him and smirked, pulling back away from him and taking off swiftly out of the gravity room. "Sucker!"  
  
"Hey!" he flew out of her.  
  
"You can't catch me!" she taunted him.  
  
"You want to bet?" he powered up and blurred in front of her.  
  
"Whoa!" she crashed into him as he wrapped his arms around her firmly.  
  
"Told you," he laughed.  
  
"Cheater." she grumbled and blew a piece of hair out of her face only to have it fall back into her eyes. She growled at it, but immediately stopped as she realized Trunks had brushed it out of her face for her. "Trunks?" she looked at him quizzically, but fearfully.  
  
"What?" he whispered as he kissed her forehead.  
  
"Trunks, don't do this to me," she breathed, "please."  
  
"Hotiku, you know I won't hurt you," he whispered.  
  
"I know but."  
  
"But what?" he looked down at her.  
  
"I don't know, I guess I'm scared," she admitted.  
  
"Scared of what?" he asked.  
  
"Trunks, I don't want to ta-" she gasped as a sharp pain pierced through her skull.  
  
~*~  
  
A raven-haired figure crept back into the shadows of the bushes as he watched Trunks support Hotiku who had her back arched in pain and her eyes dilated.  
  
"This should help her out," he spoke into a small communicator that was located in his cufflink. It crackled slightly before another voice broke through softly.  
  
"Are you sure this won't affect her psychically?" she asked.  
  
"I'm positive, stand by," he ordered and cut the link between them.  
  
~*~  
  
An image flashed before Hotiku's eyes of herself hugging Saige. She witnessed as he kissed her forehead softly before she snapped her head back up and looked at Trunks who was sitting her on her bed.  
  
"Are you okay?" he asked her.  
  
"I'm fine." she breathed.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"I'm not sure," she said as he knelt down next to her.  
  
"For a second there I thought you disillusioned again," he admitted.  
  
"No, it was something. different, it was weird. Like a memory or something," she closed her eyes as the vision played itself over and over again in her mind like a broken record. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't shake it, the same feeling had returned from earlier when she first saw the new kid. Hotiku made a mental note to keep an eye out for this kid, that sinking feeling kept returning to her like a thorn in her side.  
  
"Oh, by the way, that new kid, whatever his name is, is coming to the ball too," Trunks said.  
  
"What?!" she screeched, jumping up from the bed.  
  
"Yeah, I told mom about him and she said to invite him so I did," he blinked at her, "is there a problem with that?"  
  
Hotiku sighed and flopped back down, "no."  
  
"Good, now, I'll see you later tonight. Please wear something formal," he begged her.  
  
"Yeah, yeah," she waved her hand at him as he stood to leave, "Trunks?" she called his attention.  
  
"Huh?" he turned around, not really sure what she was going to say. Her voice had something hidden behind it, something indecipherable. It worried him, he felt as if she was hiding something from him, something important.  
  
"I'm sorry, for being so closed up," she sighed. "I don't know, I guess I should be over all of this Saige business by now, I think I just use it as an excuse for an insecurity or something."  
  
"How long have you been dealing with Saige anyway?" he asked.  
  
Hotiku shrugged, carefully choosing her words, she didn't want to give away the fact that she was the "priestess." "I guess since we were thirteen or so, he always seemed so distracted from the missions we were sent on. Then one day he just blew up and told me everything. At first, I thought it was a joke, but then when I laughed at him, he got. upset. That's when the fighting started."  
  
"Man, talk about clingy," he stated.  
  
"I swear, if I just sat down with him and had a reasonable talk with him, I could convince him out of it," she said exasperated, "but now that Rain has taken over him, I don't know. he's been manipulated and I don't think I can bring him back."  
  
"But can't you un-manipulate him or something?" he asked, trying to soak in all the information like a sponge. It seemed every time he thought he knew everything about her, bam, she'd pop up with something new. Sometimes he thought that she made some of it up, but then he'd think about it and realize that she never contradicted herself.  
  
"I'm not sure, I may be able to, but otherwise we'd have to." she trailed off, "Trunks he was one of my best friends when we were kids."  
  
"What?" he didn't quite understand, at first he thought that she hated him, now he wasn't so sure.  
  
"Every time one of us got in a jam, we'd help each other out. Then there were the times when we'd play tricks on some of the guards just to have fun and torture them. Our powers were always so much more advanced than theirs were, so it'd freak them out when they'd see a faint image in a mirror or something. They'd swear it was a ghost at times until they'd realize that it was just their own reflection faded," she recalled the events, smiling every now and then. "I miss him, I know it sounds weird, but we really were best friends. I think this whole is an act, or maybe he know something I don't."  
  
"Well, if he does, he already knows a hell of a lot more about you than I do, I swear sometimes I feel like you're hiding something from me," he scoffed.  
  
"Believe me, Trunks, anything else isn't really important," she assured him and walked to her closet. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a ball to get ready for."  
  
Trunks smiled as she seemed so excited about it, for a split second he was convinced that deep down she really did want to go to this ball. He walked towards the door to leave before turning back to watch her shift through clothes rhythmically in search of the perfect outfit. Closing the door, he grinned to himself and retreated back to his own room to don his tuxedo.  
  
~*~  
  
"And you're sure she's going to be there?" Miyako asked.  
  
"Definitely, Trunks told me to come," Zack said. The two were sitting a top a roof of one of the many skyscrapers in Satan City. Miyako looked below and observed as the people who walked around below going about their normal lives, boring lives. Sometimes they felt sorry for them, other times they envied them. Either way they seemed a million miles away now.  
  
"Alright, I'll sneak in and stay low, when the time comes we'll carry out the plan, she still doesn't remember much and this should help," she explained.  
  
"Right, see you there, or not," he smirked and stood with her. They glanced at each other momentarily before teleporting away into a thousand glittering sparks.  
  
~*~  
  
"I'm ready!" Hotiku screeched from inside her room.  
  
"So come out!" Trunks said, his arms crossed across his chest.  
  
"No, I look ridiculous!" she argued.  
  
"Come on, Hotti!" he pleaded with her.  
  
"All right, but don't laugh!" she warned. She hesitated for a moment before opening the door swiftly.  
  
Trunks stared at her for a few moments. Her dress was a slight dark blue, silk by what he could tell. He also noticed that she had a wrap hanging on her elbows behind her. "You look. wow," was all he could say.  
  
Hotiku scoffed and grabbed the petite purse on the small table by the door. She smacked his arm with it playfully and walked out of her room. "Men," she rolled her eyes.  
  
"Shall we?" he smiled as he held out his arm for her to take. Hotiku took his arm as a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips. As they descended the long winding staircase that led to the ballroom, Trunks glanced over at Hotiku as she carefully walked in the heels being careful not to step on her gown.  
  
"What?" she giggled sneaking a small glimpse at him. "You try walking in these shoes down this many stairs!"  
  
Trunks chuckled as they entered the large banquet room. They looked around to see if they knew anybody who was also dragged to this unwillingly. Trunks scanned the crowd as his eyes fell upon the new kid.  
  
"Hey, there he is," he discreetly pointed across the room at him.  
  
Hotiku frowned at him, the feeling had grown even stronger than before. Something was right about him, something not truthful and she felt it in her gut and instincts. She never doubted her instincts, they were always on the nose especially with extremities like these. "He's weird."  
  
"What? He seems fine to me," Trunks glanced at him.  
  
"I don't know, I just get a funny feeling from him," she narrowed her eyes at him.  
  
"Forget it, let's just dance," he grinned as she snapped out of her daze and looked up at him.  
  
"Okay," she chuckled.  
  
As they moved towards the dance floor, Zack and Miyako glanced at each other with a knowing look. Hotiku rested her head against Trunks' shoulder and sighed contently.  
  
"Trunks, I know I've been a pain in the ass since I got here," she started.  
  
"Yeah, you have," he joked, earning a sharp step on his foot from Hotiku. "Ow!"  
  
"Listen to me!" she whined, "before when I was talking about how I should be over the Saige thing. I always have been, I think I just used it as an excuse, a defense mechanism against the pain of being hurt from a loved one."  
  
"Hotti." he whispered and looked down at her.  
  
"But I know you won't hurt me," she smiled at him, "cause if you do, I'll kick your ass," she joked causing him to chuckle lightly. Their surroundings started to slow until they came to an absolute stand still. Hotiku lifted her chin as he started to lean in towards her.  
  
Miyako and Zack narrowed their eyes at them immediately causing a sharp pain to pierce through Hotiku's skull. She let out a cry of pain as she arched back. The pain being unbearable she lost consciousness. Trunks caught her before she hit the floor, suddenly something caught his eye and he looked up.  
  
Their surroundings had changed from the ballroom they were in to a much bigger one, much more elegant. The guests who were there were dressed in much more expensive and extravagant clothing.  
  
"What's going on?" he asked himself. Just then, all the guests stopped what they were doing and bowed as two people entered. They appeared to be the king and queen.  
  
Trunks looked off to a less crowded area of the ballroom to see Hotiku, Miyako, Zack and Saige standing together. Hotiku was glaring at the royal family while Saige placed his hand on her shoulder. She jerked her arm away from him and walked out of the room in a hurry, her heels clicking vulgarly on the marble floor.  
  
Suddenly, a groan was heard from underneath him as he looked down to see Hotiku starting to regain consciousness. The images before them suddenly returned to the regular ballroom they had been in originally as she stood jadedly.  
  
"You okay?" he asked her.  
  
"I think so, I'm just a little light headed," she admitted as they slowly walked out of the ballroom. She looked up to see that the newbie was leaving, she glared at him and decided to deal with him the next day at school. Somehow, she had a feeling that he was involved with all of this. 


End file.
